Why a Wild Pig Befriended a Herd of Cows

Farmer Dirk Reese has watched the bristly interloper—which he calls Banana—integrate into the herd over the last couple of months, according to news reports. The cows seem unbothered by the new addition, and the boar acts right at home among them. Much of what we hear these days about wild boar is bad news, about their invasive and destructive nature as their populations spread across the U.S. and Europe. But in this case, the animal is doing no harm—and its intelligence and need for companionship may explain why it decided to join the herd.