Devilboar

Devilboar (Sus aggressivus – "aggressive pig") are a species of animal that lives up to its reputation. The largest member of the pig family to date, and one of the largest swine one can encounter in Arkael, the Devil Boar is a foul tempered, angry swine that can be found all across the world. Wide-ranging and strong in numbers, they have been known to form large herds. Their meat is harvested for consumption, although it is said to be an acquired taste.

The Giant Swine of Arkael. . . noted to be so aggressive that they will attack other members of their own herd if they don't recognize them, those without a particular reason to hunt them are better off just keeping their distance.

Physical description

Devilboar are probably one of the biggest and most infamous annoyances in the known world. The Devil Boar is a gigantic animal, with adult males being ten times bigger than a regular boar. They are often covered in coarse brown fur, with older individuals having a mane of lighter gray fur running along the anterior half of its body. Though dark brown is a common color, not all individuals may sport the same hair color, with certain animals who are most often dark black or brown, grizzled with gray, gray, or having what are known as "Cow Colors'' which is a light base coat with large dark splotches. Piglets are often lighter in color with brown and tan stripes. The stripes disappear as they get older and darker in color.
These creatures sport strong neck muscles to support their massive tusks, which can grow almost seven feet in length, and stout and powerful legs support their heavy bodies.
Unlike Wild Boar who's region behind the shoulder blades rises into a hump with a neck short and thick to the point of being nearly immobile, Devilboar do not sport a hump and are not encumbered by a short neck, allowing them a wide range of movements, which can be a dangerous thing if one encounter's a angry male. The most prominent feature of Devilboar are the massive set of tusks males sport when they come of age. Male tusks, which are elongated incisors, are initially of identical size, but they commonly grow asymmetrical over time. These are the result of a long healthy life.
This is because a Devil Boar's tusks will grow constantly throughout their lives, and will be likewise worn down by the creature as it ruts and grazes. They are present in both male and female, with their practical purposes being defense and a digging tool when searching for food, however female tusks do not get as magnificent as males do and will generally grow no more than a foot in a half in length.

Habitat

These Ornery Swine are highly adaptable creatures, and it is due to this adaptability that they are known to inhabit a variety of subregions across the known world. Despite being widespread however, all Devilboars tend to stay in a select few habitats. They can often be found in the Snowy Mountains, Jungles, Swamps, and countrysides. In order to survive in a given area, Devilboars require a habitat fulfilling three conditions: heavily brushed areas providing young shelter from predators, water for drinking and bathing purposes and an absence of regular snowfall. Much like other members of their family, Devilboar rest in shelters, which contain insulating material like spruce branches and dry hay. These resting places are occupied by whole families (though males lie separately) and are often located in the vicinity of streams, in swamp forests and in tall grass or shrub thickets. Devilboar will never defecate in their shelters and will cover themselves with soil and pine needles when irritated by insects.
The main habitats favored by these pigs and boars alike within Arkael are usually deciduous and mixed forests, with the most favorable areas consisting of forest composed of oak and beech enclosing marshes and meadows. In most places, the animal's primary habitat consists of well-developed broad-leaved and mixed forests, along with marshy mixed forests, with coniferous forests and undergrowths being of secondary importance. Forests made up entirely of oak groves and beeches are used only during the fruit-bearing season.
The fur that covers a Devilboar's skin is very coarse and tough, and is designed to help protect them from the cold environments they can be found in, such as those who make their homes in the Tundra and Swamplands of the world.

Biological Adaptations

The fur of a Devilboar, which often acts as both a water-retardant barrier as well as an insulation against the cold, also doubles as a kind of damage absorber, being able to cushion blows struck by attacking monsters or the blunt ramming attacks of males in rutting heat. Of course, it won't be able to defend against everything, but something is better than nothing.
The main features to note are its snout and tusks, as they both play extremely important roles in the Devilboar's life. Because it is notoriously near-sighted, it relies on its incredible sense of smell in order to find its way around its territory. Its snout is even better than an bloodhounds' nose, as it is able to detect even the faintest smell of food from a terribly long distance away. The Devilboar's tusks are another adaptation worthy of mention. They are mainly used for digging up soil and mud in order to find food buried underground – this contributes to the tusks' asymmetry due to the tusks being worn down in the process of shoveling dirt and snow away to find tasty morsels.
The Devilboar's true strength lies in its legs. They are very powerful appendages with cloven hooves at the end, and are strong enough to propel the Devil Boar, along with its massive weight, at great speeds across the land. This is part of what makes a Devilboar charge so terrifying, and so dangerous. Their hooves are used to dig up food if their tusks are of no help, and can kick out at small predators with enough strength to crush their bones.
Devilboars are usually rather rotund in shape, thanks to their great appetites, and the added weight can make even the smallest individual a battering-ram. Their meat is known among both monsters and humans to be nutritious, but can also tough, tasteless, and hard to chew. See? Even when you eat them, they cause nothing but trouble!

Diet

Devilboars are opportunistic, omnivorous, feeding on basically whatever they can find. They spend much of their time rooting around in the dirt for morsels to eat, and will consume whatever seeds, nuts, fruits, mushrooms, or roots they can find. In order to supplement their diet, they will also feed on large bugs, depending on the region. It is also not unheard of them chowing down on carcasses of recent large predator kills.

Behavior

When talking about the behavior of the Devilboar, one must look into the only two topics that are usually introduced– their aggression and their stupidity.
Devilboar are notorious for attacking anything that moves. They have some of the shortest tempers in the monster world, blowing their fuses and charging blindly even if something walks by while minding its own business. Loud noises can startle them into attacking, as well as unusual smells, and of course sudden movements.
The Devilboar is a herd animal, but not all the time. Large males are often seen "leading" a herd of females and young, but are also frequently seen on their own. Males often frequently bully the members of the herd, shoving them around and even attacking them, but for the most part it is a good leader., acting as a guide to lead their herds to food sources and to protect them from danger, such as Bird Wyvern packs or natural disasters. Sometimes, Devilboars males have been seen staring down even large monsters in defense of their herds – although the valiant effort usually does not last for very long.
Older male Devilboars are frequently usurped by younger individuals, which are usually males that have left their herd. When a herd leader is challenged by another, they battle for control of the territory. If the leader loses, the challenger claims the entire herd and the former leader is subsequently banished. But the losing Devilboar is perfectly able to survive without its herd and will readily live a solitary life if it must.

Breeding

The breeding period for Devilboar in most areas lasts from November to January, though most mating only lasts a month and a half. Prior to mating, the males develop their subcutaneous armor in preparation for confronting rivals. During this time, the testicles double in size and the saliva glands secrete a foamy yellowish liquid. This liquid is said to be chock full of pheromones strong enough to bring any female into heat. Once ready to reproduce, males travel long distances in search of a sounder of sows, eating little on the way. Once a sounder has been located, the male drives off all young animals and persistently chases the sows. At this point, the male fiercely fights potential rivals. A single male can mate with 5–10 sows. By the end of the rut, males are often badly mauled and have lost 20% of their body weight, with bite-induced injuries to the penis and testicals being common.
Newborn piglets are born lacking underfur and bear a single milk incisor and canine on each half of the jaw. Even among the young the fighting never ends. There is often intense competition between the piglets over the most milk-rich nipples, as the best-fed young grow faster and have stronger constitutions.

Boar vs World vs Human's

The relationship between Man and Boar on Arkael often resembles the relationship Man and Boar have on Earth.
Boar hunting is historically a dangerous exercise due to the tusked animal's ambush tactics as well as its thick hide and dense bones rendering them difficult to kill with premodern weapons. Their adaptability and ability to eat almost anything has led to tremendous success. They are a notable threat to dinosaurs and other creatures, especially those who lay eggs as they often seek out nests to consume eggs.
Evolving alongside a mass of dangerous creatures has made the boar skittish and unpredictable, sometimes even worse than the Common Wild Boar of Earth, which has made them drastically impossible to domesticate. While smaller species of hog have successfully implanted themselves in domestication, becoming a staple means for many, Devil hogs are just too dangerous to get near.
Products derived from wild Devil boar often include meat, hide and bristles. Farmers have attempted many times to successfully captive-breed them, however Devil boar in captivity are hard to manage. On top of immense aggression, piglets grow slowly and poorly without their mothers. They also often take longer to mature than most domestic pigs.
Attempts at various methods of cross breeding have also yielded little results. One method popular amongst farmers to encourage inter-breeding, often involved releasing domestic sows with some sort of identification during breeding season in the hopes that male Devil Boar would take interest and round them up and breed them, then the farmer would round up the hog and wait for the piglets to be born. However, this method proved to be futile. Not only did Farmers run the risk of losing their hogs to predators, but oftentimes Wild Devil's would almost invariably attack their domesticated kin with the intent to kill, despite the Boars willing to breed with any female he crossed paths with.
Outside of attempts to domesticate, the Boars have cemented themselves as Honorary Beasts throughout many cultures. Boar hunting has continued to be a widely played sport, even after the discovery of various Elk and Deer species caused many tribes to consider the various Elk species to be a more noble and worthy quarry. For many, Boar-Hunting was also often used primarily as training for battle rather than sport. It was not uncommon for medieval hunters to deliberately hunt boars during the breeding season when the animals were more aggressive.
When deforestation and incursion on native habitat and the introduction of firearms reduced numbers, boar hunting became the sole prerogative of the nobility, one of many charges brought up against the rich during the Peasant War's that broke out throughout the continent. Boar's head also tends to be the centrepiece of most celebrations among the nobility.
Because Wild Boar find their success through adaptation of daily patterns to circumvent threats, many places deal with Devil Boars as Nuisance Animals. They avoid human contact through nocturnal lifestyles, despite the fact that they are not evolutionarily predisposed, and alter their diets substantially based on what is available. Because of this, its not that hard for them to become highly invasive threats in area's they normally wouldn't travel to unless pushed, with them either becoming extinct in certain area's or grossily overabundante in others.
As a result Devilboar are huge pests to travelers and researchers, often causing a ruckus wherever they appear and alerting bigger creatures to said person's presence. It's almost as if they exist to cause trouble. And while they are frequently killed and eaten by humans and other large creatures, it doesn't seem to put much of a huge dent in their population anyway.

Aliments

Devilboar are beast creatures that do not inflict any ailments, such as poison etc etc. However they are known to suffer from lice and flea infestations, though a good mud bath is a perfect clear-all.

Relatives

Feral hog/Devilboar hybrid: Domesticated pigs quite readily become feral if given the chance; and if the opportunity knocks, females will readily interbreed with Devilboar males who will almost immediately accept them into a herd if he doesnt kill them first.
As such, hybrid Devilboar often will become difficult to distinguish from natural or introduced True Devilboar (with which they also readily interbreed). Hybrid Devilboar are often distinguished by their coats, as hybrids almost always have thicker, bristly coats ranging in color from brown through grey to black, or patching. The tail, which is usually almost nonexistent in true wild Devilboar, will usually grow long and straight. They tend also to have longer legs and a longer and narrower head and snout, and the tusk will rarely get as long.
Arctic Devilboar: In northern, colder parts of the world, Devilboar have evolved into hardy machines. Arctic Devilboars often grow shaggy coarser coats than their lowland relatives which vary from snowy white to ashy gray. They are often more aggressive than their lower land relatives (if that's even possible). This is often thought to be due to lack of food during harsh winter months, leading to Devilboar becoming more defensive over their food.

Trivia

• Should the mother die prematurely, piglets are adopted by the other sows in the sounder

• Some boars and sows are born with a genetic defect that allows them to grow multiple tusks at once. While it is unknown as to what causes this specific defect, it appears to often affect males, resulting in newer longer tusks, with some that even go as far as to "branch" out and split from the original, like tree limbs

• They are often to blame for pushing native species out of delicate environments, attacking people, destroying public and private property, and carrying the same diseases as domestic pigs, some of which can infect humans.

Behavior: Easily agitated and aggressive
Habitat: Areas where they can find adequate cover, adaptable for all regions, but mainly for deciduous forests and open fields
Senses: Excellent hearing and smell but poor vision
Social: Lives in medium-sized groups, highly social and vocal
Active: During late evening and early morning
Measurements: Males- 1100 lbs Females- 600+ lbs
Ranking: Megafauna (beast type)