North African boar

Barbary wild boar
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Suidae
Genus: Sus
Species:
Subspecies:
S. s. algira
Trinomial name
Sus scrofa algira
Loche, 1867
Synonyms
Species synonymy
  • Sus scrofa barbarus (Sclater, 1860)
  • Sus scrofa sahariensis (Heim de Balzac, 1937)

The Barbary wild boar (Sus scrofa algira) is a smaller subspecies of wild boar native to North Africa including Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. It is a prey animal for past and present predators of the Atlas Mountains, such as striped hyenas, Atlas bears, African leopards and Barbary lions.

Genetically, it is closely related to European wild boars. It is speculated to have arrived in North Africa from Europe through the Strait of Gibraltar either naturally or through anthropogenic means sometime during the Late Pleistocene when the distance between the two landmasses was shorter, islands were present in between, and ocean currents were calmer.