Three Little Pigs | Our first free-roaming herbivores have arrived.
Our newest wildland residents taking a well-earned break
Harold’s Park Wildland welcomed Nattergal’s first free-roaming herbivores this week. Rewilding Landscapes Manager Lorienne Whittle explains the magic they are set to bring to the wildland.
Extraordinary ecosystem engineers
Domestic pigs (Sus domesticus) across the world are all thought to originate from the Wild Boar (Sus scrofa). Hundreds of thousands of years of evolution have created an intelligent, sociable animal that will eat a variety of foods. Much like their wild ancestors, domestic pigs are the ultimate soil engineers. In a rewilding system they have a significant impact on the ecosystem, leading to them being called a ‘Keystone species’
Pigs promote Nature recovery through a range of behaviours:
Rootling’: Their long snouts are perfectly designed for rooting around in the earth. Hence, ‘rootling’ is the action pigs take when searching for roots, grubs, buried seeds and nuts etc. This foraging action turns over the soil, creating patches of disturbed ground which has a wide array of positive impacts for wildlife.
Some areas, especially those which have been heavily grazed, may have a thick sward of matted grass. Many plants can’t compete with the grass, and it’s more difficult for trees and shrubs to germinate through this layer. The rootle patches break up grass, as well as other dominant plants like bracken.
Land which has previously been farmed often suffers from very compact soil, which many plants again struggle to establish in. Rootling breaks up and aerates the soil, whilst also creating more variation in the soil’s surface.
Essentially, taking patches back to bare earth presses a ‘reset’ button. Seeds get moved around, making some more likely to find the optimum conditions for germination. Diversity is encouraged as more trees, shrubs and wildflowers are able to grow.
There’s an impact across the food web as different animals are attracted to both the new plant growth and the animals which feed upon them. Many case studies show how biodiversity increases as a result.
Animals also benefit directly, for example with the bare, disturbed soil creating places where species like mining bees can burrow. The bare earth creates useful basking spots for snakes and grasshoppers (important as both are cold-blooded, relying on heat from their surroundings to regulate their body temperature). Some seeds will be exposed at the top of the soil to be eaten by animals which can’t dig down to find them.
Rotating the soil not only aerates it but also improves the nutrient cycling, including the organic matter added to the system from the pigs themselves!
The pigs are agents of dispersal, both through seeds in their droppings and, especially with the hairier ancient breeds, as carriers of seeds and even insect larvae on their coats.
Pigs will instinctively find wetter areas, creating wallowing spots which they use to keep cool. Some of these might dry up at times and others are more likely to stay wet because of the wallowing action. Again, this natural behaviour increases the diversity of habitats across the site and these mini wetlands can support a plethora of different species.
Tom and Rachel unload our new arrivals
Why Iron Age pigs?
Like any domesticated species, each breed has different characteristics and qualities as humans have selectively bred for certain traits over many generations. When weighing up the pros and cons of different breeds, we considered aspects such as historical and cultural context, suitability for the project (e.g. habitat types, ability to live out all year), rare breed status, qualities as a meat product, behavioural traits and, very importantly for Nattergal, the characteristics each breed will bring in terms of the impact on the land.
Iron Age pigs are a hybrid breed; a cross between a Tamworth and a Wild boar. In the majority of cases the Tamworth is female, as breeding a more placid, domestic animal is easier. The crossing of these two results in a useful set of characteristics: the animals are hardy enough to live out, roaming free all through the year. The meat produced is darker, like that of the Wild boar and marketable – a consideration for thoughts of breeding in future years.
Our three little pigs have much more resemblance to the Wild boar as adults. Whilst Wild boar is our native wild pig, they were hunted to extinction hundreds of years ago, before being brought back from the continent for their meat. Whilst some escaped and created wild populations, under current legislation we would need a licence to reintroduce pure Wild boar. Importantly, our pigs have been raised in a way which makes them unbothered by humans (not associating us with food or petting etc), but they can be handled when needed. This is very helpful for vet checks etc! Tamworth pigs are an ancient breed that are well adapted to live out all winter, with long legs and snouts and a thick coat of reddish bristles.
Getting to know the wildland
Getting to know our pigs
In addition to the breed characteristics, how the piglets have been raised is also very important in influencing factors such as the behaviour of individual animals, and how much they will thrive in a rewilding site. We were delighted to find our pigs from a rewilding site which has raised them in a very similar way to that which they will live in the Wildland at Harold’s Park.
Ewhurst Park is a 925-acre rewilding site in rural Hampshire. Ewhurst Park began breeding their own pigs from animals originating from other well-known rewilding projects – so we know our piglets are from great rewilding stock! Our new arrivals are all gilts – the word used for a young female pig who has not yet bred. They were born in early 2025 have lived out in a larger group, the females having already been separated from the males so we won’t get any little surprises!
Given that pigs can have a huge impact on the land, it was important not to introduce too many animals too quickly. We may in the future breed from these first three pigs, but the important element is that we will adaptively manage the land. With cows and pigs this often means taking animals off the land and into the food chain. Getting the right density of livestock is a balancing act and will vary at each site, especially depending on the assemblage of herbivores and their numbers, but also things like the weather conditions of any particular season.
For now we are happy watching the pigs settle into their vast new home, as they begin to turn the earth and in doing so reshape the land. We will continue to observe and learn, and more closely monitor the impacts too.
Public Engagement
rootling away
Having engaged with the local community about this exciting development in the restoration of Nature at the site, we know that the arrival of pigs is supported by locals and, in line with this support, we’ve taken the decision to ask all dog walkers to keep their dogs on leads while using the public and permissive routes around the site. This is to limit disturbance to the pigs and allow people to enjoy their walks without worrying about how their dogs might react to a pig! Because we’ve worked hard to source capable yet docile animals, we’re not confident the pigs won’t look to approach people or pets but are keen to avoid the risk of repeated disturbance by dogs affecting their behaviours and tolerances.
The public engagement is the final part of an operational process that has taken 8 months and, 2 cattle grids, 14 gates and over 8 kilometres of fencing. We’re pleased to say the site is pig-ready and can’t wait to share the positive impacts these ecosystem engineers bring to Harold’s Park.