Wild Boar

Squeal like a pig boy!!

Last week I mentioned woodlands and how little we have, well this week I'm going to have a go at the management of woodland or lack of it. The valleys of the lower river Blyth and most of the Wansbeck catchment Northumberland have got some excellent woodland’s along their length which greatly aids the quality of this environment but there are certain elements missing from these woods that make them completely functioning ecosystems. They are not alone throughout the entire region and indeed the whole country there is a paucity of good favourably conditioned woodlands.

The last real remnants destroyed to service the Royal Navy and the industrial revolution, the final realisation coming with timber shortages for the Great War 1914/18. The formation of the Forestry Commission in 1919 led to mass afforestation with commercial conifer plantations. The remaining relics, clinging to steep valley sides have remained largely un-managed and in neglect as mechanisation and changing needs have reduced the need to coppice, pollard and other woodland crafts. Only in very recent times has there been a drive to plant more woodlands of the deciduous type; but again that mangement element is missing after woods establish.



Boar recycling un-recycleable beech litter

Having visited many forested areas across mainland Europe the diversity of species is far greater than ours; it can be explained in some part by the UK’s geographic isolation but also in many more ways by the effects of man. I watched a documentary recently about the forest of Dean and the views expressed by foresters etc. as to the presence of certain species in the woods especially wild boar were very depressing. I was very surprised to note how negative the majority were about their presence yet these same people were much less ambivalent about the presence of destructive non native fallow deer. It struck me as a bit of a contradiction on how to achieve the degree of naturalness they were trying to create. In a sense it showed how much we have become divorced from nature and how little many people know about what is natural, native or right.


Who's afraid of the big bad pig!

Less than 10 years ago there was a fledging population in Chopwell woods but the FC in all their wisdom shoot them. There reasoning, they were in a public woodland and may have posed a threat, these creatures live side by side humans all across Europe in many public forests with very little consequence save for those deliquent enough to let there dogs run out of control.

Now I don’t mean to alienate the fluffy bunny, tree hugging immigary so many have of trees and things 'natural' but the knowledge that outside a commercial plantation the nature of woodland is one of growth and death, change, structure, regrowth and not all about trees is sadly lacking. Don’t get me wrong trees are great but they are not the be all and end all of everything they need to be managed either directly or by natures own engineers, who lets face it have far more years experience than we do. We often get calls from the public over the felling of trees, displaying their outrage at felling trees, some of which are worthy but more often than not they are commercial crops reaching harvestable age and their loss is not great ecologically.

Some trees are ecological deserts whilst others veritable oasis’s on their own. Some are grown purely as a commercial crop whilst others for their recreational and environmental benefits. More often than not they are however left alone, unmanaged in their clinically lined planting orders clearly seen in the preponderance of plantations about the region. These then become dense, single storey, low diversity rubbish dumps without any form of management save some ad hoc vandalism.


The ferocious be-hackled wild boar, tusks gleaming, warning signsin the FoD

Having visited the forest of Dean many times post and pre wild boar the differences in such a short time are clear. If you can get past the hysteria that often accompanies these quiet inconspicious forest dwellers; what looks like destruction of the forest and up rooting of sapling trees is actually a huge benefit to the forest and it flora and fauna. Smothering bracken's and brambles are reduced, stale ground is uprooted beneath beech trees to allow plants to grow, the canopy is reduced over time as glades and clearing are created which allows light in creating more space for plants and invertebrates. Dead wood is created and the recycling of nutrients is completed as fungi proliferate. The uprooting activity creates feeding opportunities for life’s opportunists like birds such as the robin that will flick behind a rooting boar for any displaced insects, all told the cycle of death and rebirth is virtually complete.

A woodland is not meant to be packed with trees and trees alone there needs to be a range of tree heights and a range of tree density from thick to none at all allowing light to the forest floor and space for grazers and browsers. It is the actions of these creatures that make a woodland and wild boar are the principle architects. Stick in a few larger herbivores and may be a larger predator and you have architypal olde world forest.


Lynx anyone??

Without any major predators like wolves, which our health and safety conscious public would never allow, the next best thing would be the odd lynx or a sustainable harvest from the boar themselves via sporting rights. Now I don’t condone the source of these wild boar, I believe species', if re-introduced, need to be done legally and above board, but they are natives and they are here now so let’s make the most of them.

Now I'm not saying re-introduce them up here, right now, although I can’t hide my support for such things but think more broadly. As a tool on a grand scale as we seek to re-naturalise our landscapes and diversify our management of the land, wild boar are a successful element of any landscape and great tourism draw. Many local tour operators now exploit their presence in the forest of Dean and elsewhere.

Just think what would your rather come across in Ashington community woodlands or their like, a 'sounder' of wild boar or the sound of a Suzuki 125, and besides wild boar sausages, what more could you ask for, magnificent.


Yummmmmy wild boar sausages

Our woodlands and landscapes are special places but they don’t manage themselves and dont get me going on to beaver again.