The Indian boar (Sus scrofa cristatus), also known as the Moupin pig,Lydekker, R. (1900), The great and small game of India, Burma, & Tibet, London : R. Ward, pp. 258-266 is a subspecies of wild boar native to India, Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar, western Thailand, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Description The Indian boar differs from the Central European Boar by its large mane which runs in a crest along its back from its head to lower body, larger, more sharply featured and straighter skull, its smaller, sharper ears and overall lighter build.Sterndale, R. A. (1884), Natural history of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon, Calcutta : Thacker, Spink, pp. 415-420 It is slightly 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.Jerdon, T. C. (1874), The mammals of India; a natural history of all the animals known to inhabit continental India, London, J. Wheldon, pp. 241-244 Adults measure from in shoulder height (with one specimen in West Bengal having reached ) and in body length. Weight ranges from .
In culture The animal has interacted with humans in the Indian Subcontinent since the Upper Paleolithic, with the oldest depiction being a cave painting in Bhimbetaka rock shelters,Mayer, John J., "Wild Pig Attacks on Humans" (2013). Wildlife Damage Management Conferences – Proceedings. Paper 151. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdm_wdmconfproc/151 and it occasionally appears in Hindu mythology. A story present in the Brahmanas says that Indra killed an evil boar, who has stolen the treasure of the asuras, then giving its carcass to Vishnu, who offers it as a sacrifice to the gods and goddesses and they eat it. In a story in the Charaka Samhita, a boar named Ermusha is an avatara of Brahma and he raises the earth and sky from the primeval waters of the universe during creation and creates the universe. In the Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Puranas, another boar, Varaha is an avatar of Vishnu that kills Hiranyaksha and saves Bhumi.Macdonell, A. A. (1898), Vedic Mythology, Motilal Banarsidass Publ., p. 41
Gallery
See also Wild boar
References
External links