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In recent years, wild boars (Sus scrofa) have caused growing damage to farm crops in a hilly and mountainous area of the Tohoku region. In particular, in designated evacuation zones following the accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, there are growing concerns about the expanding range of wild boars and the resulting degradation of farmland. To assess the influence of reduced human activity on encroachment on farmland by wild boars, this study selected two adjacent study sites-the Yamakiya district (40 square km) in Kawamata town, designated as the Evacuation Directive Lift Prepared Area, and the Iwashiro and Towa districts (80 square km) in Nihonmatsu city-and recorded locations of damage (feeding, trampling, rooting) to farmland and farm crops caused by wild boars during the period from June to December in 2013. The locations at which wild boar feces were found were also recorded and collected. These feces, as well as muscle tissue samples collected from individuals trapped during the period, were subjected to DNA microsatellite analysis to identify individual animals. Values for the probability of identity for siblings (PID-sib) were used to assess the accuracy of identification. More locations damaged by wild bores were found in Kawamata town (150) than in Nihonmatsu city (94) (generalized linear model, P
