Indian boar
| Indian boar | |
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| Sus scrofa cristatus, Bandhavgarh National Park, India | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Suidae |
| Genus: | Sus |
| Species: | S. scrofa |
| Subspecies: | S. s. cristatus |
| Trinomial name | |
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Sus scrofa cristatus Wagner, 1839 |
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| Synonyms | |
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Species synonymy
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The Indian boar (Sus scrofa cristatus), also known as the Andamanese pig or Moupin pig is a subspecies of wild boar native to India, Nepal, Burma, western Thailand and Sri Lanka.
The Indian boar differs from its European counterpart by its larger, more sharply featured and straighter skull, its smaller, sharper ears and overall lighter build. It is taller and more sparsely haired than the European form, though its back bristles are much more developed. The tail is also more tufted, and the cheeks hairier. Adults measure from 83.82 to 91.44 cm (33.00 to 36.00 in) in shoulder height (with one specimen in Bengal having reached 38 inches) and five feet in body length. Weight ranges from 90.72 to 136.08 kg (200.0 to 300.0 lb).
The animal has interacted with humans in India since at least the Upper Paleolithic, with the oldest depiction being a cave painting in Bhimbetaka, and it occasionally appears in Vedic mythology. A story present in the Brāhmaṇas has Indra slaying an avaricious boar, who has stolen the treasure of the asuras, then giving its carcass to Vishnu, who offers it as a sacrifice to the gods. In the story's retelling in the Charaka Samhita, the boar is described as a form of Prajāpti, and is credited with having raised the earth from the primeval waters. In the Rāmāyaṇa and the Purāṇas, the same boar is portrayed as an avatar of Vishnu.
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