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Confirmed cannibalism in wild boar and its possible role in African swine fever transmission
Author(s) -
Cukor Jan,
Linda Rostislav,
Václavek Petr,
Mahlerová Karolina,
Šatrán Petr,
Havránek František
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
transboundary and emerging diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.392
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1865-1682
pISSN - 1865-1674
DOI - 10.1111/tbed.13468
Subject(s) - wild boar , cannibalism , african swine fever , boar , veterinary medicine , biology , hunting season , zoology , ecology , medicine , virology , predation , anatomy , population , virus , environmental health , semen
For the monitoring of wild boar interactions with conspecific carcasses, seven wild boar carcasses were placed in different sites in the Czech Republic during winter season. Data were collected by camera traps. In total, 732 visits were recorded of wild boars at the carcass sites. Direct contact with the carcass was detected in 81% of the records. Cannibalism was observed in 9.8% of all recorded visits. The first direct contact was observed on average 30 days after the carcass had been placed in its respective site. Cannibalism was observed on average after 70 days. The effect of sex‐age class on direct contact was not proven in our study. The presented findings show that cannibalism in wild boar can play a substantial role in the ASF epidemic. These results highlighted the importance of the removal of infected carcasses from the habitat, which is crucial for African swine fever eradication.