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Wild boar choose different tree-rubbing sites as seasons change

Research: Ecology, Behaviour

Wild boar (Sus scrofa) do not use the same places for rubbing against trees throughout the year. A study in a Mediterranean agroforestry system examined monthly patterns along ten permanent survey transects from February 2024 to January 2025.

In spring and summer, the relative likelihood of a tree being selected for rubbing was associated with proximity to wallowing sites and artificial woodlands. In winter, the pattern shifted: selected trees tended to be farther from these features. Across the study, selection was strongest near paths in agricultural ecotones—transition zones between cultivated land and adjoining habitat—and declined as distance from these features increased.

The seasonal shifts suggest that wild boar have distinct areas where tree-rubbing activity is concentrated, and that these areas change over the year. Accounting for the spatial clustering of rubbing trees markedly improved the researchers’ model, showing that the position of a tree within the landscape matters alongside its surroundings. The authors propose relative tree-selection probability as a possible non-invasive way to monitor changes in where wild boar are active. It is a measure of which trees are more likely to be selected, not a direct count of the animals. The findings describe one study system and year, while the proposed monitoring approach could help investigate future changes in behaviour and habitat use.

Sources and image credit

  1. Adjusting to the seasons: microhabitat, landscape edges, and behavioural core areas shape tree-rubbing site selection by wild boar (Sus scrofa) in a Mediterranean agroforestry systemPrimærkilde: Springer Nature artikkelside med publiseringsdato 10. oktober 2026 og fullstendig tilgjengelig sammendrag. Hele artikkelteksten er bak betalingsmur.

Image: Michael Gäbler / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0. Representative photograph. · CC BY 3.0 · Source

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