Possibility of Wild Boar Harm Occurring in Five Provinces of Northwest China

Abstract

With the implementation of ecological engineering projects and related policies in China, wild boar (Sus scrofa) populations have surged, leading to increasingly serious conflicts with humans. We evaluated their potential habitat changes from the perspective of environmental suitability. To elucidate the suitable habitat characteristics for wild boars, we obtained data from 79 sites in five provinces in northwest China using database retrieval, human–wildlife conflict (HWC) incident questionnaires, and document retrieval. Thus, 10 environmental variables with lower correlation were selected, and potentially suitable distribution areas for wild boars under the current climate scenario were predicted based on the maximum entropy model. These areas were superimposed with different land use types in different periods to explore habitat selection. Precipitation seasonality (26.40%), human footprint index (16.50%), and elevation (11.90%) were the main environmental factors affecting wild boar distribution. The areas with high potential suitability for wild boars were mainly in the southeast and northwest of the region (total area of 2.63 × 105 km2). The land use types in the high-suitability zones are mainly woodland and grassland with high coverage, canopy density, and cultivated land borders. This study provides a reference for the effective prevention of HWC and management of wild boars.