Finland’s wild boar population held at 2,380 as species moves north

Finland had an estimated 2,380 wild boar in January, while milder winters are helping the species spread north, Yle reports. The population has remained stable in recent years, largely because of hunting.

Wild boars have been a focus of attention in Finland after three dead piglets found in Virolahti in southeastern Finland tested preliminarily positive for African swine fever virus. The Finnish Food Authority said on Thursday that it would confirm the result at an EU reference laboratory in Spain, although its unit director, Sirpa Kiviruusu, said the preliminary finding was clear.

The carcasses were reportedly found by a local farmer during fieldwork and sent to the Finnish Food Authority. The authority immediately imposed restrictions in the area where the animals were found.

African swine fever does not infect humans, but people and other animals can spread the virus. The disease is fatal to pigs.

According to the Natural Resources Institute Finland, the wild boar population has stood at roughly 2,200 to 2,900 animals for the past decade. The first live wild boar in the wild was observed in Finland in the 1950s, and the population began growing from the 1970s onwards. Its largest increase came during the 2000s and 2010s. Most of Finland’s current wild boar population originates from Russia.

A doctoral study published earlier this year examined wild boar movements in the border region of southeastern Finland, one of the country’s areas with the highest concentrations of the species. Researcher Elmo Miettinen found that the animals regularly cross the eastern border, mainly feeding in Finland at night and spending their days in Russia.

The study also found that individual wild boar roam across an average area of 87 square kilometres. Miettinen said in an article by the University of Helsinki that wild boar in Finland need to cover a larger area than animals farther south because the harsher northern environment forces them to search farther for food.

The species is currently most common in southeastern Finland and eastern Uusimaa, according to the institute. Smaller concentrations are also found in western and southern Finland.

Climate change is expected to help wild boar spread farther north as winters become milder. The animals do not move easily through deep snow.

Wild boar favour forests and are mainly active at twilight, moving in groups or litters. Females normally produce one litter a year, with about five or six piglets at a time. Wild boar typically live for 15 to 20 years and are omnivores that eat plants as well as animals, including larvae, small rodents and the carcasses of larger animals.