The diet of the wild boar Sus scrofa Linnaeus, 1758 in a Mediterranean
area, where agricultural crops were not available and supplementary f
ood was not provided, is described. Diet was compared to the availabil
ity of the main food resources and their influence on body weight and
reproduction was investigated from 1991 to 1994. Diet varied according
to the availability of energy-rich foods such as acorns and olives; p
ine-seeds were actively consumed, even when their availability was low
. When abundant, acorns and olives accounted for most of the diet, and
when scarce were replaced by graminoids and juniper berries. In summe
r, graminoids and pine-seeds accounted for most of the diet. Acorn and
olive production was likely to influence both body weight and reprodu
ction. Following a high production of acorns and olives, wild boar exh
ibited higher body weight, more breeding females and a larger litter s
ize than in years of poor production of these foods.