Yesterday, my brother came to my village house. He’d arrived at his mini-castle a couple of days earlier after a long drive from England. After dinner, we decided to go for a walk with his girlfriend and our dogs. It was late dusk and there were herds of red deer everywhere. Bizarrely, there was also a large sounder of boar grazing in a high grass field jut next to the abandoned road. There were perhaps 15 of them, including several piglets, although due to the tall vegetation and ridges in the hill side meadow, we only initially noticed a couple and they seemed quite some distance away. When we saw just how close the rest were to us, as they were just outside the treeline and barely visible at first, our mood changed.
Taking photos was difficult as there was little light and there was a strong wind blowing. I used my eldest son’s shoulder as a rest and had the Canon’s telephoto full extended, which meant all the pictures turned out blurry. What really freaked me was when I watched one particularly large boar charge at us. Luckily, it stopped maybe 20 metres from its group and then stood its ground. Unusually, the boars didn’t run off, instead the adults formed a barricade between us and the piglets, and then they carried on grazing. It was quite scary to see just how unafraid of us they were and that they were prepared to defend both their piglets and their grazing ground.
I don’t think my brother and his girlfriend realize just how lucky they were to see a group of boar at such close range, especially on her first trip out into the bush. I’ve had many people visit over the years and most have gone away without seeing these primal creatures. Last night really was like an advert for just how wild and wildlife-filled my area is. It was amazing – and adrenaline inducing.
Carpathian Adventure 
Humans are in the hog’s foodchain. In Sicily, enemies are fed live to penned hogs to be eaten alive and processed by the hog’s digestive tract. When you hear the expression, “That guy? He’s a real piece of sh%t”, it means the person was fed to the hogs.
Also, the wild hog, is the tastiest meat I have eaten.
The wild boar, was also the symbol of Tenth Roman Legion, Julius Caesar’s division, and three hundred years later by my ancestor. The boar meant, if it knocks you down, you will (perish) be consumed. A Roman warning. It is why police are called “pigs” for a few decades; If they knock you down (during 1960s civil disobedience), they will devour you.
I eat a lot of wild boar and venison, usually as goulash. I wouldn’t say it’s the nicest meat – it’s normally dark and stinking because it’s wild. I prefer beef but don’t have it often.
I marinade it overnight. Have not had anything distasteful. Bowl, oil vinegar, garlic, onion, basil, oregano, crushed red pepper, soy sauce, sugar. Cover with plastic wrap, tightly and refrigerate, I do this about 9pm. At 6am, take out of the refirigerator and the bowl is full of blood, reeking of slaughter. Flip the meat, cover again, and back into the refrigerator. At 3pm/4pm, fire up the BBQ and I cook until clear liquid comes out. I will toss hardwood, usually a little maple, into the BBQ and the smoke is nice. Smaller hogs are tastier. The largest was 210 pounder a friend shot, and he does not care for the meat, and gave it to me. Sicilian saying: “If it cannot outrun you, it’s dinner”. The darkness of the hog will lend itself perfectly if you want to make Italian specialty items, Soprasata, Capacola, Prosciutto, Sausage (fennel, salt, pepper, paprika, oregano, basil, parsley). I have refrained from getting my wife upset as, my grandfather got me into eating the heads. Venison is delicious, in a stew, with kernell corn. Use to feed myself, wife, three kids, dog, and whatever kids were in the house. Always had a house full of kids around. Today, those kids show up with their children, when they hear that my wife is making a venison stew. I waste as little game meat as possible. Black bear meat, BBQ sauce, hardwood, delicious.