Habitat preference of wild boar (Sus scrofa) for feeding in cool-temperate forests

Background The growing wild boar population has become a social issue and its feeding characteristics could affect the physical condition and the plant species composition in the South Korean forests. We aimed to reveal the preference of the wild boar on forest type and site condition as feeding grounds in two cool-temperate forested national parks, Odaesan and Seoraksan, in order to provide information to manage the growing population. Results The 75 plots (53.6%) out of 140 plots were used as feeding grounds by the wild boar, implying a considerably large population. Especially, the observation frequency as feeding ground was the highest in Quercus forests (73.3%), and it was significantly more preferred than deciduous forest type (44.2%) and coniferous forest type (32.4%) (χ2 = 17.591, p