An encounter with a wild boar as I walk through a forest is not something I’d ever imagined could happen in England. However, after reading this highly informative book, it no longer seems to be in the realms of the impossible. Boar heads are often seen in medieval heraldry and are a symbol most of us are familiar with, but how much do we actually know about the lifestyle of these creatures? Lyons describes the world of the wild boar with such passion and verve that you can’t help but be swept along with it. I can almost feel her excitement as she spots a sow and several boarlets for the first time. The hazardous element of encountering one of these creatures is explained at different levels. We know that wild boar are voracious eaters and coupled with their willingness to fight off any animal they feel threatened by, this has led to them being viewed as highly dangerous to be around. As a result, newspaper articles will often go down the sensationalist route and rumours can get out of hand, resulting in something akin to mass hysteria. Groundbreakers is an exceptionally interesting read, looking carefully at both the pros and cons of having wild boar populations in Britain and their impact. Highly recommended!

Opening with the author’s first tentative encounters with boar in the New Forest, the book reveals details of their history, foraging and diet, breeding habits, and social structure. Initially, everything might seem to be going well, but when Lyons expands her investigations to include other areas in the UK where they have been re-introduced, the picture turns to one of conflict where boar (inevitably in our fractured landscapes) come in to contact with human activity. Possibly because Lyons relies heavily on reported evidence there always seem to be more questions raised than answers given, but the questions raised (and that they largely remain unanswered) are what makes the book most interesting. For example, does foraging benefit or harm biodiversity? Overall, I found ‘Groundbreakers’ a thought-provoking read, not least because some of what Lyons includes stems from post-graduate research first undertaken in 2014 giving the opportunity (with a bit of flicking between chapters) to compare the impact of the relatively small population then with the regularly culled population now.