Wild Boar, Forest of Dean

Wild Boar, Forest of Dean, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Finally, I got to see some of this years piglets! :) Unfortunately, they were so small they barely show up on any of the photos, but they were a treat to see. (click on the photo for a poor photo of one).
Unlike the non-native fallow deer who are currently enjoying the benefits of a closed season on shooting, the native (albeit long extinct until recent years) wild boar do not enjoy this luxury. Whilst they are busy trying to look after their young, the Forestry Commission is continuing to shoot them. In the past two weeks I've found plenty evidence that the boar are being shot at this important time. There seems to still be a policy of reducing the population, even though the population is very much unknown.
This photo shows one of the sows. The sounder consisted of two sows and something like 8-10 piglets. There's almost certainly one behind the tree or the grass in this shot, but they're so small that most of the time they were hidden. This particular sow is shown here trotting towards the camera for a closer look at what's going on (poor eyesight). Soon afterwards, she turned back to the group and headed off.