I’ve recently returned from a two-day photography trip in the Forest of Dean, one of the main locations in the UK where you can still see Wild Boar.
For me, this was one of those shoots that was more than just getting ‘the shot’. It was all about connecting with a species – a large animal that, when you first spot it, gives you a feeling of pure exhilaration. Wild Boar stir up something inside me, and take me back to a time in history when our shores and countryside were wilder.
Photographically, they offer a real challenge, too. There aren’t many species that, for me, require as much fieldcraft. I spent hours tracking these animals, walking huge amounts of woodland and grassland habitats looking for their footprints, for signs of rooted soil and their dung, and then looking for spots where they prefer to wallow and bed down. All these signs bring you closer to the animals and increase the excitement levels, but at the same time you are desperate to not just see the signs – you want to look into the eyes of the boar.
I visited in March, which gave me the best chance of seeing young piglets. The bracken and other woodland vegetation hadn’t yet grown to a height that would make it even trickier to spot them, either.
After hours of searching, another photographer with great local knowledge of key spots helped me find this family group. Adult females are protective over their young and will move off very quickly if they don’t accept your presence.
After simply enjoying the moment and being totally in awe of such a wonderful animal, I set about taking the photos.
The setting brought about more challenges – a dark and dingy woodland, caked in mud with low light levels – and the piglets themselves are nearly always on the go, and you still have to be aware of a protective mother boar.
I was pleased with my shots, though. I really enjoyed seeing the piglets’ characters and managed a photo of an adult every now and then when it looked up to check on me. It was a truly wild-feeling experience that I will never forget!
