Spatial strategies: an attempt to classify daily movements of wild boar

Abstract

Movement and activity of free-roaming wild boar were studied in a hunted forest area. Thirty-six 24-h radio-tracking sessions were conducted on 2 sets: 5 subadult males (26 sessions) and 4 breeding females (10 sessions). Three kinds of movement were distinguished: activity zone (AZ), slow movement (< 1 km/h), fast movement (> 1 km/h). Individuals from both sets proved capable of performing all their nocturnal activity within a single AZ. Another strategy, observed only in males, consisted of ranging continuously and not using AZ. In most instances the night began with slow activity and an AZ was frequently associated with the initial resting place. Conversely, the final resting place is rarely associated with an AZ. The strategy employed led to a more or less complicated succession of the 3 kinds of movement. Total distance covered and activity duration were correlated with this complexity, but in any way most variations in the movement parameters are refered to individual, sex and period differences. If we assume that the home range organization is based on preferred places (AZ and resting places), a decision tree can be drawn. All results suggest that the succession of decisions was for the most part determined by the search for a maximum safety resting place. They also suggest that the use of AZ is partly related to non- feeding activities, e.g. social relations and short resting phases. The wild boar movement strategy as a whole showed similarities with that used by a number of polyphagous predators