SREL Reprint #1783
The Eurasian wild pig (Sus scrofa)
William L. R. Oliver, I. Lehr Brisbin, Jr., and Shunjo Takahashi
Introduction: Sus scrota is the antecedent of the overwhelming majority of domestic and feral pig populations. In its native form it has one of the largest ranges of any wild ungulate and, together with its domestic and feral derivatives, it has one of the most extensive distributions of all mammals. In different parts of this range it is naturally sympatric with at least three congeners (S. salvanius, S. barbatus, and S. verrucosus), though it or its derivatives have been introduced by human agency into areas supporting all other (formerly allopatric) congeners (S. celebensis, S. cebifrons, and S. philippensis) and non-congeners (Potamochoerus, Hylochoerus, Phacochoerus, and Babyrousa), as well as the New World tayassuids (Tayassu and Catagonus). Where introduced populations have become naturalized and abundant they are generally regarded as environmental pests (Oliver and Brisbin, this vol.), as well as posing a threat of disease contagion and/or genetic contamination to native suids, including endemic populations of this species.
SREL Reprint #1783
Oliver, W.L.R., I.L. Brisbin Jr., and S. Takahashi. 1993. The Eurasian wild pig (Sus scrofa). pp. 112-121 In: W. L. R. Oliver. (Ed.). Pigs, Peccaries and Hippos. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan of the IUCN World Conservation Union, Gland, Switzerland.
This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).