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 |  | A number of incidents have happened recently where wild boars have been blamed for attacking cows and chasing people.
Curious, we’ve dug around for some facts in an attempt to answer such pressing concerns like: would a wild boar try to eat me or my dog?
Ìý| Ìý |  | Woodland - ideal wild boar habitat
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To start off, we were asking ourselves, what are wild boars doing in Warwickshire anyway?
It turns out the creatures became extinct in Britain during the 17th century but have now made a surprisingly successful comeback.
Their favourite stamping ground is woodland, which is why Warwickshire is a perfect home. And why they’re now causing difficulties for local farmers.
The problem is so serious that, even as far back as August 2000, Warwickshire Police issued advice to its officers on how to deal with a wild boar incident. The bulk of the advice was to stay away from the creatures!
So, are they really that dangerous? We did a little research to answer your questions on safely avoiding - or looking out for - the beasts.
ÌýWild boars are still pretty rare and your chances of seeing one are slim. But most sightings are at dawn and dusk when they're most hungry.
They root around woodlands following smells to look for food.
ÌýWhat should I do if I see one?
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| Ìý |  | We'll also take sightings like this, from the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú programme Beast!
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We’d love you to take a photo and email your account to coventry@bbc.co.uk!
More seriously, the official advice seems to be to not approach the boar, avoid worrying it and back away calmly. If it charges, get out of its way!
They’re fitter than your average pig, so don’t presume it can’t catch or hurt you.
ÌýWould it try to eat me or my dog?
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Wild boars will eat almost anything, but you’d make the headlines as the first ever human victim if you got eaten!
Boars mostly eat plants but they will go for any animals they can catch and fit in their mouths.
ÌýHow often do attacks happen?
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| Ìý |  | Prize cows like these risk being badly damaged in a wild boar attack
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Fortunately, attacks are still rare. Over the past year, a woman riding a horse in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, was chased and in Warwickshire a herd of cows was chased before a boar attacked a pregnant cow.
Farmers have also complained that boars cause a lot of costly crop damage.
ÌýWhen would it be aggressive?
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A wild boar really might not attack, but its most volatile time is during the mating season in autumn, when males will fight any other boar (or other creature possibly) he feels is challenging his position. This is when the boar slashes with his tusks.
Females with piglets can also be extremely dangerous, as they can act like an over-protective Sicilian parent.
ÌýCan they be got rid of?
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| Ìý |  | Farmyard pigs are more civilised descendants
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DespiteÌýconservationists' delight at the increasing population, this question comes up every time an incident is reported.
Apparently there’s very little anyone can do about wild boars as they are very difficult for marksmen to track down and shoot.
ÌýSo far, Warwickshire Police have received reports of sightings in Coughton, Alcester, Ettington and Wootton Wawen.
Have you seen a wild boar in your area? Do you have a photograph of the beast? Have you suffered damage caused by boars?
Tell us all about it by using this email link to coventry@bbc.co.uk.
We want to hear how wild boars in the area are affecting you.
ÌýDale Collins emailed to say:
"Yesterday (15/08/04) my wife and I were running over Chase hill at Ross-on-Wye, on a steep wooded hill backing onto the forest of Dean.
"We'd gone about a mile and a half to where the track becomes more overgrown when we spotted what we thought was a dog. We decided the owner was probably around and so kept running towards it. This was where it turned and wandered across the path (about 70 feet away).
"I saw the very distinctive shape of a wild boar and cried out to my wife, who was closer, to turn carefully and run quickly back the way we'd come. Have to say, we ran back over the hill in record time whilst checking behind!
"The boar was about the height of a large dog and had the heavy muscular front associated with their form.
"We are a little concerned about these beasts in this area since children, walkers and runners amongst others regularly use the many tracks through the forest in the hills here. Would a loud hand held siren stop them from attack do you think?"
Chris Mullins emailed:
"Wild Boar will leave us alone most of the time, they're quite shy and recluse really, you've already mentioned their protective behaviour to their harem during breeding season and their young, which is all quite true. But then again Wild Deer can be just as dangerous during their Rutting Season, so the advice would be to steer clear of woodlands if you know there are Boar in there during the times of Spring and Autumn, just as you would be advised to be weary in Deer Parks during rutting season which by the way is about Sept - Oct.
"I run an exotics wildlife research group called "Beastwatch UK" we collate all manner of sightings of not just Wild Boar but anything that may be exotic, rare, escaped, introduced and/or reintroduced, to the UK, and we'd love to hear from anyone with sightings of these rather elusive creatures, from your neck o'the woods so to speak."
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