Two Tamworth pigs join Boothby Wildland

Two new arrivals have joined Boothby Wildland, and they have an important role to play in the landscape’s recovery. 

We’ve recently welcomed two Tamworth pigs to Boothby, marking another exciting step forward in our work to restore natural processes and create a richer, more dynamic landscape for wildlife. 

Tamworth pigs are a traditional British breed, known for their hardiness, curiosity and, importantly for us, their natural instinct to forage and root through the ground. 

Small disturbances, big opportunities 

As the pigs explore Boothby, they’ll root through vegetation, break up areas of compacted soil and create patches of bare ground. 

Nature thrives on change. By opening up the ground and creating variation in the structure of the landscape, the pigs can create new opportunities for plants to germinate, insects to move in and other wildlife to benefit. Over time, this can help build a more diverse mosaic of habitats across the Wildland. 

Their behaviour also mimics some of the ecological functions once performed by wild animals such as wild boar, which roamed Britain centuries ago. Rather than trying to control every inch of the landscape, we’re allowing animals and natural processes to help shape what happens next. 

Another natural process returns 

The pigs are the latest piece of a much bigger picture at Boothby. 

Just as our beavers are transforming wetland habitats through dam building and moving water through the landscape, the pigs will create a different kind of disturbance on land. 

Rather than becoming static, the Wildland is an ever-evolving kaleidoscope of habitats, continually created, altered and renewed by natural processes, creating new opportunities for different species. 

And we won’t know exactly what will emerge. That’s part of the excitement. By creating the right conditions and restoring the processes that healthy ecosystems need, we can give Nature more space to respond. 

Another step forward for Boothby 

Welcoming the Tamworth pigs represents another important milestone in Boothby’s journey from intensively farmed land towards a thriving, Nature-rich Wildland. 

Nature restoration takes time, but every new process we can restore helps build a landscape that is more complex, resilient and alive. 

We’ll be watching closely to see how the pigs shape the Wildland over the coming months, from the ground they disturb to the plants, insects and wildlife that respond. 

Two pigs may be a small addition to Boothby, but we hope their impact will be much bigger.

Note: When visiting Boothby Wildland’s public spaces, please help us give our animals and wildlife the space they need by sticking to designated footpaths, closing gates and keeping dogs on leads.