B is for Boar

Almost anywhere one went in the vast territories of the British Empire, one was likely to find boar. Whether they were introduced as domestic pigs that went feral, or whether they were an indigenous population of Sus scrofa, boar were everywhere, and were both a boon and a plague. They were an indispensable ally to the settler, providing a ready and a plentiful source of food. They were also a powerful foe, threatening livestock, crops, ecosystems, and even politics and people. Boar seemed to both undermine and advance empire at every cloven-hoofed step, a contradictory status that sprang from their huge appetites, their fierce tempers, and their prodigious fertility.