With the beginning of spring, it is now common to encounter, trotting along roads and tracks, some baby boars briefly away from their mother.
After a gestation period of about three months, the sow (female boar) gives birth to three to ten babies at the end of the winter. Often, mother boars stay together to protect their offspring, and it is frequent to see flocks of twenty to thirty baby boars. Although it might be tempting to get closer, one should stay at a reasonable distance: the mothers are probably not far and carefully watching over them.
The Maremma boar is a short, stubby and fast animal. It runs through bushes easily, unbothered by thorns and branches.
Boars have a very strong sense of hearing and smell. While adult boars avoid humans, you will find many signs of their presence while walking through the woods and olive tree fields of the estate - tracks left in wet soil, holes dug to look for roots, or patches of grass folded into a bed.
I like to think that in Chinese astrology, the boar represents a fun-loving, easy-going being that happily shares its zest for life.