AryaInIND at 21:03, 23 March 2026

2026-03-23T21:03:51Z

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{{Short description|Subspecies of wild boar}}
{{Subspeciesbox
| name = Indian boar
| image = Sus scrofa cristatus.jpg
| image_caption = Indian boar, [[Bandhavgarh National Park]], India
| genus = Sus
| species = scrofa
| species_link = Wild boar
| subspecies = cristatus
| authority = Wagner, 1839
| synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true
| title = Species synonymy
|''affinis'' (Gray, 1847)
|''aipomus'' (Gray, 1868)
|''aipomus'' (Hodgson, 1842)
|''bengalensis'' (Blyth, 1860)
|''indicus'' (Gray, 1843)
|''isonotus'' (Gray, 1868)
|''isonotus'' (Hodgson, 1842)
|''jubatus'' (Miller, 1906)
|''typicus'' (Lydekker, 1900)
|''zeylonensis'' (Blyth, 1851)
}}
| synonyms_ref = <ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 Wozencraft|id =14200058}}</ref>
}}

The '''Indian boar''' ('''''Sus scrofa cristatus'''''), also known as the '''Moupin pig''',<ref name= lydekker>Lydekker, R. (1900), ''[https://archive.org/stream/greatsmallgameof1900lyde#page/258/mode/2up The great and small game of India, Burma, & Tibet]'', London : R. Ward, pp. 258-266</ref> is a [[subspecies]] of [[wild boar]] native to India, Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar, western Thailand, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

== Description ==
The Indian boar differs from the [[Central European boar|Central European Boar]] by its large mane which runs in a crest along its back from its head to lower body, larger, more sharply featured and straighter skull, its smaller, sharper ears and overall lighter build.<ref name= sterndale>Sterndale, R. A. (1884), ''[https://archive.org/stream/naturalhistoryof00ster#page/414/mode/2up Natural history of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon]'', Calcutta : Thacker, Spink, pp. 415-420</ref> It is slightly taller and more sparsely haired than the European form, though its back bristles are much more developed.<ref name= lydekker/> The tail is also more tufted, and the cheeks hairier.<ref name= jerdon>Jerdon, T. C. (1874), ''[https://archive.org/stream/mammalsofindiana00jerd#page/240/mode/2up The mammals of India; a natural history of all the animals known to inhabit continental India]'', London, J. Wheldon, pp. 241-244</ref> Adults measure from {{cvt|33|to|36|in|cm|0|order=flip}} in shoulder height (with one specimen in [[West Bengal]] having reached {{cvt|38|in|cm|0|order=flip}}) and {{cvt|5|ft|cm|0|order=flip}} in body length. Weight ranges from {{cvt|200|to|300|lb|kg|0|order=flip}}.<ref name= lydekker/>

== In culture ==
The animal has interacted with humans in the Indian Subcontinent since the [[Upper Paleolithic]], with the oldest depiction being a cave painting in [[Bhimbetka rock shelters|Bhimbetaka rock shelters]],<ref name=mayer2013>Mayer, John J., "Wild Pig Attacks on Humans" (2013). Wildlife Damage Management Conferences – Proceedings. Paper 151. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdm_wdmconfproc/151</ref> and it occasionally appears in [[Hindu mythology]]. A story present in the [[Brahmana|Brahmanas]] says that [[Indra]] killed an evil boar, who has stolen the treasure of the [[asura]]s, then giving its carcass to [[Vishnu]], who offers it as a sacrifice to the gods and goddesses and they eat it. In a story in the [[Charaka Samhita]], a boar named Ermusha is an [[Avatar|avatara]] of [[Brahma]] and he raises the earth and sky from the primeval waters of the universe during creation and creates the universe. In the [[Ramayana]], [[Mahabharata]] and the [[Puranas]], another boar, [[Varaha]] is an [[avatar]] of Vishnu that kills [[Hiranyaksha]] and saves [[Bhumi (goddess)|Bhumi]].<ref>Macdonell, A. A. (1898), ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=b7Meabtj8mcC&dq=veda+boar&pg=PA41 Vedic Mythology]'', Motilal Banarsidass Publ., p. 41</ref>

== Gallery ==
{{Clear}}<gallery mode="packed">
File:225A7892.jpg|In [[Nagarhole National Park]]
File:Amitava banerjee tiger wild boar tadoba.jpg|Hunted by a [[Bengal tiger]] at [[Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve]]
File:Indian boar in Kaziranga National Park March 2025 by Tisha Mukherjee 01.jpg|In [[Kaziranga National Park]]
File:പുള്ളിമാൻ കുഞ്ഞിനെ പിടികൂടുന്ന കാട്ടുപന്നി, പറമ്പിക്കുളത്തു നിന്നുള്ള കാഴ്ച.jpg|With a deer fawn
File:Wait ma 690V6270 - Flickr - Lip Kee.jpg|Wild boar with piglets in [[Kaziranga National Park]], Assam
File:Wild Boars (Sus scrofa cristatus) (20132920710).jpg|In water, [[Ranthambore National Park]], Rajasthan, India
</gallery>

== See also ==
*[[Wild boar]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Sus scrofa cristatus|''Sus scrofa cristatus''}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q3978213}}
[[Category:Mammals described in 1839]]
[[Category:Mammals of India]]
[[Category:Mammals of Myanmar]]
[[Category:Mammals of Nepal]]
[[Category:Mammals of Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:Mammals of Thailand]]
[[Category:Suidae]]
[[Category:Wild boars]]

Indian boar - Revision history

AryaInIND at 21:03, 23 March 2026