A wild boar with an unusually large litter of 12 piglets has been observed in the Vyborgsky district of the Leningrad region, setting a local record. Biologist Pavel Glazkov reported the sighting on his channel, “Every Creature a Pair,” on June 3.

While literature documents cases of wild boars giving birth to as many as 15 offspring, the survival rate of such large litters is often compromised. Wild boars typically have only ten nipples, meaning some piglets may struggle to nurse adequately. Each piglet generally claims and defends its own individual nipple.

Newborn wild boar piglets are precocial, meaning they are sighted and mobile shortly after birth. They possess a distinctive striped camouflage pattern during infancy, which fades around 4-5 months of age.

Wild boars exhibit an interesting sex ratio, with females outnumbering males at birth. This contrasts with most mammal species, including humans, where males are typically more numerous at birth. Only moles share this characteristic with wild boars.

The biologist expressed hope that the mother boar will successfully raise all of her piglets. For comparison, another wild boar filmed in the Yuntolovsky reserve had a litter of only five.