Painted Boar
Basic Information
Anatomy
Painted boar, or Shanin Boar as they're also known as, are large boar with orange, yellow, and white pelts and four tusks. They are native to the Shanin Islands. They are named such as they retain markings similar to that of juvenile boar of other species through their entire lives.
Genetics and Reproduction
Painted boar have between 5 and 7 piglets per litter. They will stay with their mother until about two years of age, with males dispersing to find their own mates. Often, some of the female offspring will stay within their group until it becomes too large to sustain itself, having their own offspring upon leaving.
Growth Rate & Stages
Painted boar grow quite quickly, reaching adult size at roughly 1.5 years of age, but will continue to grow until 3 years old.
Ecology and Habitats
As they are native to the Shanin Islands, painted boar prefer tropical climates, but they can survive in temperate ones as well. They favor dense forests and jungles with high amounts of vegetation and plant cover, becoming stressed when out in the open such as grasslands and plains. They are also quite at home in cities and rural areas.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Like most boar species, they are omnivores, typically eating the roots, fungi, bulbs, and tubers of almost any plant along with berries, seeds, fruit, and insects. These boar are quite well known for having a higher percentage of their diet filled by fish, clams, and other sea creatures that wash on Shanai's beaches and sand bars. Painted boar will also take advantage of any carrion, garbage, or food given to them by tourists.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Painted boar live in groups called a sounder, which are made up of up to 9 adult females and their offspring, led by the oldest female who is generally the mother of the other adults. Males live typically solitary lives when they have reached maturity, following females but rarely interacting with them. They are incredibly social with their own sounder and females will raise one another's offspring and protect them as their own. It is not uncommon for a single female to watch over all of the offspring with the others search for food and forage, giving them a much needed break.
In the City of Shanai in particular, especially areas with much higher amounts of tourists and therefore food and less competition, sounders can grow up to 16 individuals and their offspring. Males are much less competitive with one another and rarely fight for mating rites, being much less aggressive than wild counterparts.
Domestication
Painted Boar are considered not a fully domesticated species, but instead tamed. They have not been bred for specific traits intentionally, although due to being sacred on the Shanin Islands, tame boar with less fear and aggression to people are more likely to be fed and well cared for by the locals. These traits have been passed onto their offspring, resulting in the boar being much more like the domestic pig in behavior, but still retaining their wild appearance. The boar can easily recognize those who are friendly and helpful to them, and when injured will often gather around vet clinics for assistance or other medical centers. They allow for locals to care for them in ways most wild animals wouldn't, such as brushing them, trimming their hooves and tusks, being given medications and vaccinations, and allowing people to interact with their offspring.
Uses, Products & Exploitation
Painted Boar are a sacred symbol of Shanai and of the God of Fire, Vega. They are considered his children and interacting with them is good luck. This has led to a number of tourist traps on the islands to see and feed the boars, under the superstition it will grant the person Vega's blessing. While this is true that extraordinary acts to care for the boar may lead to Vega liking a person, giving them scraps is not enough.
The boars are also a steady supply of meat on the islands, often with their numbers taken down to reasonable levels a few times per season in sacred hunts with permission from Vega himself. As there is little room for livestock on Shanai, the boar fill the role of domestic pigs the most often, and almost any pork product found there is made from their meat.
On Shanai the boar are also often kept as pets. Even fully wild ones are quite tame and easy to care for. Rather than a person choosing the boar however, it is often the other way around, where a boar, usually a mother, will choose a person she knows to be particularly kind to them and leave some of her offspring with the person. Commonly Vega also will give some boar to people and his followers during festivals.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Average Intelligence
These boar are known for having a calm demeanor around people, and very little fear of them with very high intelligence. Painted boars are also quite intelligent, able to recognize tourists from the locals, and change their behavior from indifferent to 'cute', begging for food in the hopes of getting easy meals. They are also well known for being stubborn in attempting to get food, and while boar trying to cause harm to others is very rare, the occasional injury does occur from trying to remove them from a food source, particularly people food such as garbage or picnics.
It has also been observed that the boar learn the location of sand bars and rips during the tides easily, and have a method of teaching this information to their offspring by showing them the best locations to cross from island to island during low tide. This is also when the boar have been observed digging up clams and carrying them with them to eat when on the safety of dry land. Painted boar can also learn how to open doors, simple locks, trash bins, and have even been observed obeying traffic signals and using crosswalks, which they can also teach others of their kind through observation.
Civilization and Culture
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
The boar are intertwined with the culture of the Shanin Islands heavily, being a sacred symbol of the nation and their history.
Origin/Ancestry
Divine
Lifespan
14-20 years (wild) 20-35 years (captivity)
Conservation Status
Least concern
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Painted Boar are typically a rusty orange to a pale yellow, with dark brown and white stripes running down their sides. They often have triangular white patches over the eyes.
Geographic Distribution
Discovered by
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