When I retrieved the head of a feral hog I shot in mid March this year I find a bit of a surprise, a healing/healed head wound.
Initially I considered that he had been shot with an arrow but I'm now thinking a wound from fighting with another boar.
I find the right ocular orbit dissimilar to the left causing me to believe a secondary, force type, fracture or perhaps effects from an bone infection.
In any case I'll bet he had a headache for a while.

Interesting for sure. Be Well, Packy.

I had one just like that ( before the corrgie got it ) and always thought it was from fighting ?

Was the eye below the hole in the skull normal?

The 200# I shot in Fla.
Had been gouged from the nut sack to
root of the tail.

And badly infected, we had to throw the one
hind qtr away. I wanted the meat to bring
back to Colorado.

Those hooks are sharp and fighting they get
vicious. No doubt some die from their fights.

George

I don't believe I'd care to be in a scrap with one of these boars, a fella could lose a good pair of boots, blue jeans and leg flesh quick.
The skull is dissimilar at the ocular orbits, right side appears to be a healed fracture at the supraorbital process without displacement of the orbit. There appears to be a significant scar/artifact at the top center of the skull, perhaps damage from the same event that produced the hole or secondary infection(?).

Yep, that hog got worked over at one time
or maybe more.

Interesting pictures. Thanks for sharing with
us.

George

I always thought if one was into pig sticking a pair of chain saw chaps would be handy.

In 2017, I shot a bush pig that had a run in with a lion. It had several punctures into the skull. However none went all the way through .

Judging by the one clean cut through the bone, I'd say your initial impression -- that a broadhead caused this wound -- is spot-on. Probably created a hell of a nasty wound and undoubtedly a rough time for the hog.

I shot a boar a couple years ago that had a wound from poor placement with a bolt or arrow. It had cut deeply into the shoulder and caused an infection, but it did not reach the vitals, so the hog was still very much alive. My best estimate is that he had been wounded a week to 10 days prior to me shooting him one night at the protein feeder. This was a large, old boar, and I doubt he'd have spent much -- if any -- time at the feeder had he not been wounded.

Bobby's story reminded me of one---on the S. Tx lease about 10 yrs ago and one of the guys tried to head-shoot a hog but shot him in the lower jaw. Hog ran off but about 10 days later I'm in the stand and see this "thing" walking up the sendero toward me--it looked like a pig head with no body and something dangling from its chin. It was the hog that was shot previously and it was so skinny all I could see was its head. It would try to eat corn off the ground and would squeal each time when the dangling jaw hit the ground. It finally turned broadside and I shot it with the 7 Mag--and it ran into the brush!! Well it only ran about 5 yds. That was the awfullest thing I've seen--I dragged it off to the buzzard buffet and 3 days later it was still there, undisturbed. Our buzzards and coyotes were not picky so that really surprised me.

Imagine the hog living that long, no food, though obviously able to drink--