How to identify wild boar

The government is changing how it manages wild boar to protect Alberta’s livestock industry.

The following amendments to the Pest and Nuisance Control Regulation are in force as of December 1, 2025:

Wild boar are now a pest in all circumstances, not just when at large.
- This means that it is illegal to keep, import, purchase or otherwise obtain, export, sell or otherwise dispose of or transport live wild boar or wild boar hybrids without a permit.
- Learn more about the options available to help wild boar owners adjust to these changes including a voluntary exit with compensation through the Wild Boar On-Farm Exit Program or continuing to farm wild boar through grandfathering.
It is illegal to hunt or trap wild boar in Alberta, with certain exceptions.
- Learn more about the changes to rules for hunting and trapping wild boar.

Overview

Detection and monitoring are key to eliminating the threat of invasive wild boar in Alberta. You can help by learning to identify wild boar and signs of their activity and reporting sightings.

What wild boar look like

Look for the following features to help identify wild boar:

elongated snout with flat facial profile (domestic pigs often have a shorter, dished facial profile)
dark coat color with light tipped bristles
coarse hair or ridge along the back
muscular shoulders with small hams or loins
straight tail
erect ears
striped piglets

Examples of wild boar

All photos are taken in Alberta

Wild boar facing the camera in a clearing in the forest at night

Wild boar climbing up from a dried creek bed in late fall or early winter

Two wild board facing each other in a clearing at night

Wild boar behind small tree in a forest at night

A group of three wild boars in a clearing in the forest, taken at night

Wild boar facing the camera behind a fallen log in the forest

Two wild boars, one larger than the other, both facing to the left with a fallen tree in between the two

Group of 12 boars in a circle with some rooting in the ground in a clearing

Examples of domestic pigs that may be mistaken for wild boar

Domestic pig, likely a Duroc cross. Credit: Les Myers

Domestic Pot-bellied pig. Credit: Brad Semeniuk

Domestic pig, likely a Large Black cross. Credit: Daniel Arndt

Domestic Mangalica pigs. Credit: Submitted photo.

Hair

If wild boar are in the area you will find hair caught on fence lines and on the bark of trees where they rub. The coarse guard hairs of wild boar and domestic pigs have a distinctive fork or split at the ends.

Wild boar hair. Credit: Agriculture and Irrigation

A strand of wild boar hair pinched between thumb and forefinger beside a small tree and the inside of a baseball cap in the background

Strands of wild boar hair embedded in a strand of barbed wire with snow-covered ground in the background

Wild boar hair. Credit: Agriculture and Irrigation

Rubs

Wild boar rub on trees, leaving distinctive smooth, bare, or muddy areas. You can often find hair caught in the bark where they have rubbed. You may also see where they have slashed the trees, often spruce, with their tusks.

Mud rubbed against the side of a poplar tree, resulting in a darker section on the trunk

A muddy rub left by a wild boar. Credit: Agriculture and Irrigation

Tree trunk that has been stripped of bark with strands of dried sap

A rub that has been used for a long time by wild boar. Credit: Agriculture and Irrigation.

Tree with exposed roots - bark is stripped from the foots of the tree to about 30 centimetres up the tree

A spruce tree with signs of tusking and rubbing by wild boar. Credit: Agriculture and Irrigation.

Droppings

Because wild boar are omnivores, their droppings can be highly variable and may be confused with bear or deer droppings. This makes droppings are a less reliable sign of wild boar.