Habitat Selection Characteristics of Wild Boars in Xiaozhaizigou National Nature Reserve, Sichuan Province

The Eurasian wild boar is a well-known scientific name of wild boar, and its environmental adaptability is extremely strong, ranging from temperate zone to tropical zone, from semi-arid climate to tropical rain forest. In recent years, due to the continuous expansion of wild boars in Sichuan province, which has gradually affected the ecological balance and human activities. Coupled with the severe situation of prevention and control of the epidemic of African Swine Fever (ASF), relevant departments and scholars pay more and more attention to the wild boars. In order to find out the distribution and activities of wild boars in Xiaozhaizigou Nature Reserve, and provide support for the prevention of ASF and the regulation of wild boars population, the habitat suitability and selection characteristics of wild boars in Xiaozhaizigou Nature Reserve were analyzed and evaluated by means of Line Transect Method. The results showed that the MaxEnt model performed well (the average AUC = 0.918) and could be used for habitat evaluation. The suitable and sub-suitable habitat area was 81.76 km², accounting for 18.42% of the whole nature reserve, and the unsuitable and less-suitable habitat area accounted for 57.57% and 24.00% respectively. The elevation and soil type were both important environmental variables. Most of the wild boar trails in Xiaozhaizigou Nature Reserve appeared in the dark-brown earth area, and the main activity zones were concentrated between 1500 m and 2500 m, accounting for 74.20% of the total activity trails. The main reason is that wild boars preferred to active in areas with abundant food sources. In addition, the environmental variables such as climate, geography, biology, human disturbance and other environmental variables in this study were also important factors affecting the food distribution of wild boars.bundant food sources. In addition, the environmental variables such as climate, geography, biology, human disturbance and other environmental variables in this study were also important factors affecting the food distribution of wild boars.