Yeah good call on that. I found sows move differently too. With the larger rear and smaller front side while feeding, it often looks like watching a lopsided slinky at play. Mature boars often move with purpose and just walk in like they own the joint... crash crash snap crash snap, right out into the open, munch munch munch.
Much as I don't like saying it, your gut will tell you quite a bit as well. I watched a bear feed for 2 consecutive evenings, probably 4-5 hours total. I was confident it was a sow... but is it alone? I eventually did catch some glimpses of a couple football sized black fur balls messing about, probably 15-20 yards deep into the brush. It was only a few glimpses here and there after 4-5 hours of staring. Would it have been legal if I had taken the sow? Given the wording "accompanied by", maybe? But would I have felt like trash and considered giving up hunting? Probably. Definitely take your time and there is something about listening to your gut much as I don't like indefinitive things like that.
If I would define it, a bear that feeds in less optimal places it could be feeding, sticking closer to cover (20-30 yards) starts getting suspicious. Dang another 10-15 yards out is a way better bounty of feed? Like HT said, one can potentially pass up boars by being cautious... I probably pass on 80% for one reason or another (not the ideal shot, too hot out and too much uphill retrieval, etc) and it can be hard to tell... but 8 out of 8 bears I have harvested have all been boars, so there must be methods to my madness. I just wish I could articulate it better.
Just tracked down the video of that sow... here it is. Shaky video, sorry for that. I'd been watching for a couple hours about 100 yards away through the binos, but it was getting dark, had to walk passed the momma there and figured I'd film. No zoom here. I'm about 10-15 yards from her and I know there are a couple cubs 15 yards or so back in the brush there and my hands were covered in mosquitos. Not many people are dumb enough to stop to film in such scenarios but I am
It was actually the next day after I filmed that, boar snapped the sapling in the picture a few posts ago. Harvested that boar and it was a fine one. No doubt would have killed those cubs. Funny enough half way through processing said boar she was clacking her jaws at me maybe 40 yards away. I was just shouting stuff like "hey there calm down little lady, did ya a solid, happy mothers day". I think that's the only time "telling" a female being to "calm down" worked out well for anybody
It's bad mojo in most cases, but jaw clacking is just "your too close, making me nervous", hollaring back anything just says "yeah i hear you. im doing my thing, dont care about you, get used to me eh, we'll keep this distance"