Distribution of wild boar in Karelia
Citation
Tirronen K, Panchenko D, Danilov P, Bedoreva I (2021). Distribution of wild boar in Karelia. Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/c6462a accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-09-08.Description
Wild boar is the largest member of the pig (Sus) genus, which has a pronounced sexual dimorphism. The first animals arrived in Karelia in the late 1960s (Данилов, 1974). At the northern limit of their distribution, wild boars clearly tend to cultural landscapes (arable fields, grasslands) as farmland offers plentiful food. Boars are also frequent visitors of drained bogs, non-freezing wetlands and marshy banks and shores. Speaking of forests, boar tracks are more often found in spruce stands, which offer better shelter against wind and predators (Русаков, Тимофеева, 1984; Данилов, 2005). Wild boar is an omnivorous animal. In addition to plant foods, its diet includes eggs and young of ground-nesting birds, small mammals, and even remains of large mammals (carrion). A significant part of the ration is invertebrates – earthworms and insects. Large local populations can cause damage to farms and affect biological communities. This report contains information about wild boar encounters in the Republic of Karelia.Purpose
To create a publicly open resource with information on the distribution and occurrence of the invasive wild boar in the Republic of Karelia.Sampling Description
Study Extent
Sampling was done by winter track counts in 2017-2020, yielding data on the encounters of the wild boar in the Republic of Karelia.Sampling
Data were collected through a winter track count. This is the principal method of surveying game animals in Russia (Юргенсон,1965, Приклонский, 1972), based on counting animal tracks on snow within transects.Quality Control
After the survey, an authorized body runs the rejection procedure and processes the transect & tracking record cards.Method steps
- The winter track counting (WTC) technique consists in counting track intrusions in a sampling transect. The number of tracks of the given species is directly proportional to the species’ population density.
- Track survey procedure. The effort takes two days. First day (track erasing day). Skiing (or, if snow depth allows, walking) the route, the surveyor erases all tracks of game animals along the way so that only “fresh”, newly left tracks can be recorded the next day. Second day (track counting day). Moving along the route, the surveyor takes record of all the day’s tracks intrusions and the animal species the tracks belong to. Surveys should be timed to days with season-average (ordinary) conditions, without heavy precipitation, strong wind, or very low temperatures.
Taxonomic Coverages
Geographic Coverages
The harsh environment for wild boar outside of its traditional distribution range is the reason for the species’ low numbers in the Republic of Karelia, where the snow cover and nutrition are the main limiting factors. Yet, the species has survived in the area for some 50 years now. The animals are salvaged by farmland offerings, but even these food resources, which help wild boars survive outside of their natural distribution range, are declining drastically in line with the degradation of agriculture in northern regions of Russia. The landscapes and climate relatively favorable for wild boar can be found in southern Karelia. A comparatively high extent of agriculture in the area is the key factor for the higher wild boar population density throughout the monitoring period. The species’ numbers and densities are also high in Zaonezhye. The current distribution of wild boar in Karelia is roughly confined within the Porosozero – Medvezhyegorsk – Povenets – Chyolmuzhi – Kuganavolok outline. The boundary of the distribution of wild boar, as well as of any other species, is variable, appearing in reality not so much as a ‘line’, but more like fretwork with source enclaves, sometimes situated far enough from the so-called ‘line’, especially along river valleys. E.g., a fairly lasting source is found in Belomorsky District, on the White Sea coast, near rivers Ruyga and Nukhcha.
Vagrant animals are annually encountered far north of the current species’ distribution range, since boars can be highly mobile when searching for food or during the rutting season.
Bibliographic Citations
Contacts
Konstantin Tirronenoriginator
position: Head of the laboratory of Zoology
Institute of Biology of KarRS RAS
Pushkinskaya st., 11
Petrozavodsk
185910
Karelia
RU
Telephone: 8(8142)769810
email: kostja.t@mail.ru
homepage: http://ib.krc.karelia.ru/member.php?id=662&plang=e
userId: http://www.researcherid.com/rid/Z-4566-2019
Danila Panchenko
originator
position: senior researcher of the Laboratory of Zoology
Institute of Biology of KarRS RAS
Pushkinskaya st., 11
Petrozavodsk
185910
Karelia
RU
Telephone: 8(8142)769810
email: danja@inbox.ru
homepage: http://ib.krc.karelia.ru/member.php?id=654&plang=e
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1955-4196
Pjotr Danilov
originator
position: Leading researcher of the Laboratory of Zoology
Institute of Biology of KarRS RAS
Pushkinskaya st., 11
Petrozavodsk
185910
Karelia
RU
Telephone: +7(8142)769810
email: pjotr.danilov@mail.ru
homepage: http://ib.krc.karelia.ru/member.php?id=169&plang=e
userId: http://www.researcherid.com/rid/A-9605-2014
Irina Bedoreva
metadata author
position: Leading Mathematician
Institute of Geology of KarRS RAS
email: irina_ivb@list.ru
Konstantin Tirronen
author
position: Head of the laboratory
Institute of Biology of KarRS RAS
Pushkinskaya st., 11
Petrozavodsk
185910
Karelia
RU
Telephone: 8(8142)769810
email: kostja.t@mail.ru
homepage: http://ib.krc.karelia.ru/member.php?id=662&plang=e
userId: http://www.researcherid.com/rid/Z-4566-2019
Konstantin Tirronen
administrative point of contact
position: Head of the laboratory
Institute of Biology of KarRS RAS
Pushkinskaya st., 11
Petrozavodsk
185910
Karelia
RU
Telephone: 8(8142)769810
email: kostja.t@mail.ru
homepage: http://ib.krc.karelia.ru/member.php?id=662&plang=e
userId: http://www.researcherid.com/rid/Z-4566-2019
Danila Panchenko
administrative point of contact
position: Senior researcher
Institute of Biology of KarRS RAS
Pushkinskaya st., 11
Petrozavodsk
185910
Karelia
RU
Telephone: 8(8142)769810
email: danja@inbox.ru
homepage: http://ib.krc.karelia.ru/member.php?id=654&plang=e
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1955-4196