The wild boar was first bred as a domestic animal about 9000 years ago. It is a very useful domesticated animal, as it provides humans with meat, leather, lard, and bristles for brushes, in addition to serving as a draft and riding animal. The wild boar is the most widely distributed of all pigs, having been introduced to many regions of the Western hemisphere for sport hunting. While the natural inclination of the wild boar is to sleep at night, approximately 11 hours at a time, and search for food during the day, in heavily hunted areas boars will reverse this pattern. Like most species of pig, the wild boar eats a varied diet of grass, herbs, insects, small animals, and carrion.
Wild boar are a nuisance to farming communities because their rooting damages the soil.