The Social Aspects of Wild Boar in the Forest of Dean

Wild boar Sus scrofa are native to the British Isles, being present after the last ice age and prior to the closure of the land bridge with the continent approximately 9,000 years BP (Yalden 1999). Yalden (1999) estimated that in the Mesolithic period there may have been up to 1 million wild boar in Britain. Boar were recorded as being plentiful in the forest of Dean during the 12th and 13th Century, only being hunted by nobility (Hart 2005). No records exist of population numbers but the population was sufficiently large to withstand 512 boar being despatched to Royal households during the 12th Century (Hart 2005). The last free-living wild boar in Britain were extirpated approximately 700 years ago. The location of the last ‘genuine’ wild boar is not clear, Rackham (1986, 1980) suggests the Forest of Dean, along with the Forest of Pickering as the last refuges. In the Forest of Dean records exist showing King Henry III ordering 200 wild boar for Christmas dinner in 1251, with a further dozen being ordered in 1260. In 1282 records show that no boar could be found in the Forest of Dean for the King’s table (Hart 2005).