The wild boar appears to us as something straight out of a myth.
But as Jeffrey Greene learned, these creatures are very real,
living by night and, despite shrinking habitats and hordes of
hunters, thriving on six continents.
Greene purchased an eighteenth-century presbytery in a region of
ponds and forests in northern Burgundy between the Loire and Seine
Rivers of France. He soon discovered he'd moved to one of the most
densely populated boar areas in Europe. Following the gift of a
side of boar from a neighbor, and a dramatic early-morning
encounter with a boar-hunting party and its prey, Greene became
fascinated with the animal and immersed himself in the legend and
the reality of the wild boar.
Although it has no natural enemies, the boar is in constant
conflict with humans. Most societies consider it a pest, not only
wreaking havoc on crops and livestock, but destroying golf-course
greens in search of worms, even creating a hazard for drivers (hogs
on the roads cause over 14,000 car accidents a year in France). It
has also been the object of highly ritualized hunts, dating back to
classical times.
The animal's remarkable appearance--it can grow larger than a
person, and the males sport prominent tusks, called "whetters" and
"cutters"--has inspired artists for centuries; its depictions range
from primitive masks to works of high art such as Pietro Tacca's
"Porcellino" and paintings by Velazquez and Frans Snyders. The boar
also plays a unique role in myth, appearing in the stories of
Hercules and Adonis as well as in the folktale "Beauty and the
Beast."
The author's search for the elusive animal takes him to
Sardinia, Corsica, and Tuscany; he even casts an eye to the
American South, where he explores the boar's feral-pig counterparts
and descendents. He introduces us to a fascinating cast of experts,
from museum curators and scientists to hunters and chefs (who share
their recipes) to the inhabitants of chateaux who have lived in the
same ancient countryside with generations of boars. They are all
part of a journey filled with wonders and discoveries about these
majestic animals the poet Robinson Jeffers called "beautiful
monsters."
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