Pigs, hogs and peccaries form the next family with which we have to deal. The Wild Boar which we may take first, is famous in classic history and European legends, and is celebrated both by ancient and modern poets. He is, or was common to Europe, Asia and Africa, and whether in the hunt or the banquet has always been highly esteemed. The boar hunt is an exciting chase, having all the elements of danger necessary to give it zest. Boars have been known to kill not only dogs, but horses and men with their powerful tusks, turning and rending them with great strength and ferocity. When in a wild state the boar is a dangerous and inconvenient neighbour, for he commits serious depredations upon the property of the peasant and the farmer. Bruce in his travels gives an illustration of this. He says: "We pitched our tent in a small plain by the banks of a quick clear running stream; the spot is called Mai-Shum. A peasant had made a very neat little garden, on both sides of the rivulet, in which he had sown abundance of onions and garlic, and he had a species of pumpkin which I thought was little inferior to a melon. This man guessed by our arms and our horses that we were hunters, and he brought us a present of the fruits of his garden, and begged our assistance against a number of wild boars, which carried havoc and desolation through all his labours, marks of which were, indeed, too visible everywhere.--Amongst us all we killed five boars, all large ones, in the space of about two hours; one of which measured six feet nine inches; and though he ran at an amazing speed near two miles, so as to be with difficulty overtaken by the horse, and was struck through and through with two heavy lances loaded at the end with iron, no person dared to come near him on foot, and he defended himself above half an hour, till having no other arms left, I shot him with a horse-pistol." The tusks of the wild boar are often a foot in length and his hide is so tough that small bullets have been found between the skin and the flesh of captured specimens.
Authorities differ as to whether the domestic pig is derived from the wild species or not, but certain it is that the domestic hog under suitable circumstances, betrays wild instincts. Hogs have been known to hunt rabbits and poultry and attack lambs when temporarily free from restraint, and instances have been recorded in which the hog has attacked and killed its keeper. The hog grows to a great size, the measurements of one belonging to Mr. Lunton of Bodmain some years ago being nine feet in length and seven feet five inches in girth. Its weight was eight hundred and fifteen pounds. These limits have, however, often been exceeded, a hog bred in Cheshire measuring nine feet eight inches including tail, and standing four feet six inches in height. This animal weighed 1,215 pounds when killed. Hampshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire, and Yorkshire have all fine breeds which supply the larders of the United Kingdom with prime bacon. The sucking pig has been deemed a dainty dish even from Roman times. The babiroussa belongs to Bouru and Celebes, and is gregarious. Its habits are similar to those of the wild hog, which the male rivals and even surpasses in size. It has tusks attached to both the upper and the lower jaw, which bend backwards with a graceful curve.