What Does “A Herd of Boars” Mean?
“Herd” is the broad, general-purpose term applied to wild boar groups, standing in for the more specific and far more commonly cited “sounder.” Wild boars are genuinely social animals, with females and their young forming the core of most groups, sometimes called “sounders” but just as often described more plainly as herds.
Boar herds typically consist of a matriarch, her offspring, and occasionally other related females, while mature males tend to live a largely solitary existence, only rejoining a herd briefly during the breeding season. This social structure, tight-knit female-led groups with wandering males, is fairly common across pig species and gives “herd” a reasonably accurate, if somewhat generic, fit.
Example: “A herd of boars rooted through the underbrush at dawn, the younger animals sticking close to an older sow.”
Related: Collective Nouns for Mammals