A team of researchers who followed wild boars with GPS in several European cities discovered something unexpected: Animals did not necessarily avoid human presence, but rather learned to live with it by modifying their schedules and behaviors until they became practically invisible. Scientists went so far as to describe this ability as one of the secrets to their success in environments where, in theory, they should feel more threatened.
What each GPS reveals. The truth is that researchers have spent years placing GPS collars to wild boars to better understand how they live, move and survive in increasingly humanized landscapes. The striking thing is that each new follow-up seems to dismantle some preconceived idea. In some cases they have discovered unexpected routes, in others a constant presence near human activities and, recentlya behavior that perplexed even experts with decades of experience.
Far from hiding in the most closed and dense shelters, some specimens have developed much more subtle strategies to go unnoticed: remaining motionless in places that are apparently not suitable for hiding and trusting in their ability to blend in with the environment.
The wild boar that went viral. One of the most surprising cases was that of a young French wild boar named Phiphi. For almost two years, a GPS collar allowed us to follow each of its movements and revealed that the animal frequently used open areas to restsomething that contradicts the traditional image of the wild boar taking refuge in the densest vegetation. He often lay next to a few ferns or under the minimal protection of an isolated tree in the middle of a clearing.
The strategy seemed simple but effective: stay completely still and take advantage of the natural camouflage to practically become part of the landscape. Even when her necklace disappeared for weeks and was later found by hunters, the discovery occurred again in an open area, reinforcing the idea that his success consisted precisely in hiding where no one expected to look for him.
Movements of an adult wild boar marked with a GPS collar in the surroundings of a pig farm over the course of a week, evidencing the constant use of the immediate surroundings of the livestock facilities
The invisible visitors. He latest scientific work By placing GPS on the animals, he has discovered something that not even the ranchers could have imagined. The studies carried out in Spain by IREC researchers They placed GPS on wild boars in Aragon, Catalonia and Murcia to analyze the risk of transmission of African Swine Fever. The results showed that these animals usually frequent the surroundings of intensive pig farms. without attracting attention of the ranchers.
Signs of wild boar activity were detected in nearly half of the farms analyzed, even though many officials claimed not having seen any. The technology showed that the animals visited slurry ponds, feeding areas and other sensitive points discreetly and constantly, revealing a reality completely different from the perception of those who work daily in these facilities.
A greater health risk than it seemed. The finding has important implications because the main danger does not lie in direct contact between wild boars and pigs, something relatively rare in intensive farms. The problem arises through indirect connections. Vehicles, clothing, tools or materials can act as a bridge between the environment used by wild boars and farms.
The silent presence of these animals in the vicinity multiplies the opportunities for the transmission of diseases such as African swine fevera particularly worrying threat for a country that leads European pork production.
The birth of a new tool. All this information has been used to develop the first scientific protocol specific external biosecurity against African Swine Fever in intensive pig farms. Unlike traditional approaches based on general recommendations, the new system analyzes each farm individually, studies its environment, evaluates its weak points and proposes measures adapted to the real risk.
The objective is to move from theoretical protection to prevention based on specific data obtained in the field, incorporating for the first time the real behavior of wild boars into the health defense strategy.
A species that continues to keep secrets. The common lesson that unites all these studies The fact is that the wild boar continues to surprise those who think they know it well. GPS has shown that it can be hidden in unexpected placesmove around livestock farms without being detected and exploit small vulnerabilities in the human landscape with remarkable effectiveness.
Each new monitoring provides information that forces us to review what was taken for granted about the species. And if these works show anything, it is that a good part of the wild boar’s success lies precisely in its ability to be very close to us without us barely noticing its presence.
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