The species is highly flexible, resulting in a wide range of habitats, that increasingly include urban environments (Cahill et al. 2012, Stillfried et al. 2017). However, it prefers well-developed broadleaved forests, but may also be found in more open habitats such as steppe, Mediterranean shrubland, and farmland, so long as there is water and tree cover nearby (Scandura et al. 2022b). Seasonality influences habitat use, both in terms of use of resources (Keuling et al. 2009) and risk avoidance during the hunting season (Saïd et al. 2012).

It has an omnivorous diet, that varies according to local and seasonal food availability. Plant matter constitutes the staple of the diet (e.g., beech mast, acorns, green plants, tubers) and includes agricultural crops when available (Schley and Roper 2003). Animal material is also frequently consumed, although it usually represents a small portion of the diet (about 3% of stomach content), and mostly includes invertebrates, small mammals, fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds and can either be acquired by scavenging or predation, depending on the size (Schley and Roper 2003).

In the European region, the Wild Boar is widespread across the continent, apart from the northernmost regions of Fennoscandia and European Russia, and several Mediterranean islands. It disappeared from the British Isles and Scandinavia in the 17^th century, but animals (mostly hybrids with domestic pigs) escaped from captivity have established wild populations in Sweden, Great Britain and Ireland (Lemel et al. 2003, Frantz et al. 2012, McDevitt et al. 2013). Historical wild boar populations occur in the islands of Corsica and Sardinia, where records are available since Neolithic times, whereas the population in Sicily was introduced more recently (Scandura et al. 2022b). In Cyprus, the species, after an illegal reintroduction in 1994, has been extinct since 2004 (Hadjisterkotis and Heise-Pavlov 2006).

The natural range of the Wild Boar extends from western Europe and North Africa eastwards through the Middle East, central and south-east Asia, reaching its south-eastern limit at the Greater Sunda Islands. Out of this range, it occurs with introduced (often invasive) populations on all other continents except Antarctica.

It occurs in a large number of protected areas across its range, and it is one of the most abundant and widespread ungulate species in Europe. Even where local numbers have declined due to African swine fever, they are expected to recover after the end of the outbreak. The main aspect of concern in Europe is the occurrence of anthropogenic hybridization with the domestic pig that might result in a loss of adaptive potential or to unpredictable effects on fitness-related traits. No specific actions targeted to the conservation of the species are recommended in Europe, whilst conservation actions to mitigate the impact of the Wild Boar on other less common species are advisable.