Trophic ecology of the wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Chile

We document the diet of wild boar in south-central Chile based on analysis of 20 stomachs collected on the outskirts of Mocho-Choshuenco volcano (39 degrees 54' S, 72 degrees 02' W) and of Vicente Perez Rosales National Park (41 degrees 03' S, 71 degrees 54' W). The diet incorporates animals, plants and fungi. Among the latter two, both epigeal and hypogeal parts are consumed, together with fruits and seeds. Fungi and rhizomes of Gunnera tinctoria are the most abundant plant items in the diet. The wild boar in Chile forages chiefly in forested environments, but nonetheless the most frequent plant items in its diet are found in open spaces or outside the forest. Environments dominated by bamboos Chusquea spp. constitute important foraging sites. Rodents in the family Muridae prevail among animal items in the wild boar diet. This situation, however, is associated to the occurrence of a mouse outbreak (ratada) resulting from the mast seeding of Chusquea spp. during our study. Birds in the family Rhinocryptidae together with invertebrates (specially Coleopteran larvae of Chiasognathus grantii) made up a sizeable part of the animals in the wild boar diet. In comparison to elsewhere, the wild boar in Chile consumes fungi in a similar percentage of occurence (65%) as in the United States of America but much higher than in Europe (5-32%). With regard to the animal component, the wild boar in Chile consumes more (20% volume) of such items than in the United States of America (6%) and in Europe (7-13%).