Observation of rescue behaviour in wild boar (Sus scrofa)

AbstractHere, we provide unique photo documentation and observational evidence of rescue behaviour described for the first time in wild boar. Rescue behaviour represents an extreme form of prosocial behaviour that has so far only been demonstrated in a few species. It refers to a situation when one individual acts to help another individual that finds itself in a dangerous or stressful situation and it is considered by some authors as a complex form of empathy. We documented a case in which an adult female wild boar manipulated wooden logs securing the door mechanism of a cage trap and released two entrapped young wild boars. The whole rescue was fast and particular behaviours were complex and precisely targeted, suggesting profound prosocial tendencies and exceptional problem-solving capacities in wild boar. The rescue behaviour might have been motivated by empathy because the rescuer female exhibited piloerection, a sign of distress, indicating an empathetic emotional state matching or understanding the victims. We discuss this rescue behaviour in the light of possible underlying motivators, including empathy, learning and social facilitation.

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First Report of Echinococcus ortleppi in Free-Living Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) from Portugal

Microorganisms ◽

10.3390/microorganisms9061256 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (6) ◽

pp. 1256

Author(s):

Teresa Letra Mateus ◽

Maria João Gargaté ◽

Anabela Vilares ◽

Idalina Ferreira ◽

Manuela Rodrigues ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wild Boar ◽

Internal Transcribed Spacer ◽

Sus Scrofa ◽

One Health ◽

Control Strategies ◽

Free Living ◽

First Report ◽

Wildlife Reservoirs ◽

First Time ◽

Echinococcus Granulosus Sensu Lato

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a zoonosis that is prevalent worldwide. It is considered endemic in Portugal but few studies have been performed on Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato and their hosts. In this study, CE cysts are reported for the first time in a free-living wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Portugal. The presence of the metacestodes in the liver of the wild boar was identified by morphological features, microscopic examination and molecular analysis. The sequencing of part of the DNA nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer-1 (ITS-1) region revealed a G5 genotype that presently corresponds to Echinococcus ortleppi. This is the first report of E. ortleppi in Portugal and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, in Europe. These results suggest that wild boar may be a host of CE, namely, crossing the livestock–wildlife interface, which has important public health implications. Wildlife reservoirs must be taken into account as CE hosts and surveillance of game as well as health education for hunters should be implemented using a One Health approach, with implementation of feasible and tailor-made control strategies, namely, proper elimination of byproducts in the field.

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Leptospira fainei Detected in Testicles and Epididymis of Wild Boar (Sus scrofa)

Biology ◽

10.3390/biology10030193 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 193

Author(s):

Giovanni Cilia ◽

Fabrizio Bertelloni ◽

Domenico Cerri ◽

Filippo Fratini

Keyword(s):

Wild Boar ◽

Real Time ◽

Reproductive System ◽

Real Time Pcr ◽

Sus Scrofa ◽

Rrna Gene ◽

Pathogenic Leptospira ◽

Wild Boars ◽

First Time ◽

Opening Up

Leptospirosis is a re-emerging and worldwide diffused zoonosis. Recently, the high importance of their epidemiology was explained by the intermediate Leptospira strains. Among these strains, Leptospira fainei was the first intermediate strain detected in domestic and wild swine. Wild boars (Sus scrofa) are well known as a reservoir, as well as all swine, for pathogenic Leptospira, but very little information is available concerning intermediate Leptospira infection. The investigation aim was to evaluate if intermediate Leptospira can infect the reproductive systems of wild boars hunted in the Tuscany region (Italy), as previously demonstrated for pathogenic ones. The reproductive system tissue (testicles, epididymides, uteri), and placentas and fetuses, were collected from 200 regularly hunted animals. Bacteriological examination and real-time PCR were performed to detect intermediate Leptospira DNA. Unfortunately, no isolates were obtained. Using real-time PCR, in six (3%) male organs (both testicles and epididymis), intermediate Leptospira DNA was found. The amplification of the 16S rRNA gene identified that all DNA obtained belong to Leptospira fainei. The results of this investigation highlighted for the first time the localization of Leptospira fainei in the male wild boar reproductive system, opening up a new avenue to further investigate.

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New morphological and molecular perspectives about Macracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus (Acanthocephala: Oligacanthorhynchidae) from wild boar, Sus scrofa Linn., in Ukraine

Journal of Helminthology ◽

10.1017/s0022149x21000675 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 95 ◽

Author(s):

Omar M. Amin ◽

Richard A. Heckmann ◽

Sara Dallarés ◽

María Constenla ◽

Tetiana Kuzmina

Keyword(s):

Wild Boar ◽

18S Rdna ◽

Sus Scrofa ◽

The United States ◽

Small Subunit ◽

European Population ◽

Cortical Layer ◽

Molecular Profile ◽

First Time ◽

Macracanthorhynchus Hirudinaceus

Abstract We make new morphological observations not previously reported for the old acanthocephalan Macracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus (Pallas, 1781) Travassos, 1917, described for the first time about 240 years ago. Our specimens were collected from the wild boar, Sus scrofa Linn., in Ukraine in 2005. We provide comparative morphometrics with other populations from Ukraine, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Europe, Brazil and the United States of America. Our specimens from the Ukraine had the smallest trunk (110–120 mm long), longest and thickest hooks, with the third hook being the largest, largest eggs, and a proboscis wider than long. We document the morphology of the proboscis, apical organ, hooks, hook roots, sensory pores, micropores, and eggs with scanning electron microscopy for the first time. We also provide chemical analysis of hooks and eggs using energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, discuss its micropores, and provide a new molecular profile based on 18S rDNA from a European population for the first time. Edge of hook tips feature high levels of calcium and phosphorous but the high level of sulphur is mostly found in the cortical layer of eggs. One new partial 18S rDNA sequence (482 nt length) was generated from an adult specimen of M. hirudinaceus. We present the first 18S rDNA published sequence for this cosmopolitan acanthocephalan obtained from Europe. The amplified region corresponded to the approximate middle region of the small subunit ribosomal ribonucleic acid gene, which is ~1800 nt in length. This molecular contribution is especially valuable in light of the extreme scarcity of genetic information about species of Macracanthorhynchus and of the family Oligacanthorhynchidae as a whole.

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