Feral Hogs prowl America

not sure which forum to post this in; feral hogs are becoming a problem throughout North America (and in Australia, esp after the rains)

www.foxnews.com...#

www.chicagotribune.com...

www.upi.com...

swine have always lived in the wild in parts of Africa and Asia. domestic pigs get loose or are released (too expensive to feed, farmers move away) and are able to survive all too well.
with the rollback of bears and wolves (and cats) there are few/no natural predators for the oinkers.
I would have thought Michigan is too cold for wild pigs; guess not.

Yes, there was a report last year that some idiot let about 30-40 Russian hogs loose in the back country in 2009 to "improve hunting" in my county.

Each female has the capacity for 3 litters a year...latest reports count something over 300 feral hogs now. I'm waiting for them to show up in my canyon.

Originally posted by works4dhs
not sure which forum to post this in; feral hogs are becoming a problem throughout North America (and in Australia, esp after the rains)

swine have always lived in the wild in parts of Africa and Asia. domestic pigs get loose or are released (too expensive to feed, farmers move away) and are able to survive all too well.
with the rollback of bears and wolves (and cats) there are few/no natural predators for the oinkers.
I would have thought Michigan is too cold for wild pigs; guess not.

Even Saskatchewan has them. This is one of the coldest places in Canada, temperatures often the same as the arctic. A friend was out hunting one day, and came upon a wild boar, unexpectedly. It's a good thing that he was a good shot, as he was running and shooting back at the boar. They can be extremely dangerous.

It ended up in his freezer, being good eats.

They're getting to be a problem here. There's a "wild game farm" that stocks "wild boar" about 10 miles from my house. Some of them got loose in 2008. In the fall of 2010, a man who was hunting deer got charged by a wild boar. Fortunately, the man shot the wild boar. The thing weighed over 450 lbs! Its also rumored in my area that a farmer that went bankrupt in the early 1900, just set his pigs loose instead of trying to sell them off. It makes me nervous now when I hear rustling noises in the woods & fields behind my house.

Pigs can revert back to nature quite easily. As mentioned above, they have no natural enemies (at least not around here). They're also surprising quiet for their size.

Waiting from them to make an appearance in UT. Good hunting and good eating.

I grew up in northern Florida. A friend of mine lived on the beach and told me a wild boar lived in the dunes. I didn't believe him until one weekend he sat in a tree with a gun and shot the pig. He invited people over and barbecued it. Anyway I guess they can live anywhere.

Feral hogs are a massive problem in Texas. We have an open season, year around, with no bag limit. I've been known to shoot them and leave them where they lay for the coyotes and buzzards to feast on. These invasive pests breed so quickly and have so many per litter that they are almost impossible to stop.

In 1990 there were an estimated 4000 in 3 states. That number is now 4 million in at least 39 to 43 states. It is an epidemic to say the least. They destroy crops and the ground, they spread disease(see salinas salmonella spinach field contamination/deaths/recall) they attack and kill family pets and will attack humans also. The tusks will rip you open like a hot knife in butter and they do just about anything they want.

Its estimated 7 outta 10 would have to be killed to start to reverse those numbers. They start breeding at 5 months old and have litters of 5-10 piglets. I get 3 tags a year and usually fill them within a day or 2 but i know thats not even making a dent in the population. Kinda like saying i picked up a grain of sand in the sahara to help cut down on dust storms

Heres some links to help you out with.

USDA Invasive Species

National Feral Swine Mapping System

Florida Hunters Trying to help

Department of Fish and Game report

In the U.S., wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are non-native, invasive pests that pose a significant threat to ecosystems, watersheds, agriculture, forestry, native plant and animal communities, and human health. Wild pigs are perhaps the greatest vertebrate modifiers of natural plant communities by their rooting and trampling which impacts plant regeneration, community structure, soil properties, nutrient cycling, and water infiltration. Wild pigs cause problems for native wildlife by competing for food and other resources, direct predation, and by the spread of disease and parasites. In aquatic systems, wild pig activity reduces water quality and can increase the level of fecal coliforms in streams to exceed human health standards.

Hope that helps.

Silver

Originally posted by S1LV3R4D0Its estimated 7 outta 10 would have to be killed to start to reverse those numbers. They start breeding at 5 months old and have litters of 5-10 piglets. I get 3 tags a year and usually fill them within a day or 2 but i know thats not even making a dent in the population. Kinda like saying i picked up a grain of sand in the sahara to help cut down on dust storms

Silver

you'd think there'e be unlimited/open season on these
closer to my home we have a muskrat-like enroacher called a nutria. they are open season/unlimited bag. too bad they aren't tastier.

yes, what do you think i was out doing all weekend here in mckinney, just north of dallas....after reading the bible, we shouldn't eat them because they are eating dead stuff, and it turns out the Creator want us to avoid that...i know...
but anyway, i'm out to take their numbers down and it's fun to see what pops up in the game camera pictures. i have to be sharp with my two grandsons out there in harms way at the ages of 21/2 and 41/2, but no worries mate. google garrett cartridges...
did you know in the end times wild animals are prophecy'd to be a problem?....i'm on the case....and i'm fast and CAN hit with it....always was like that

Originally posted by works4dhs

Originally posted by S1LV3R4D0Its estimated 7 outta 10 would have to be killed to start to reverse those numbers. They start breeding at 5 months old and have litters of 5-10 piglets. I get 3 tags a year and usually fill them within a day or 2 but i know thats not even making a dent in the population. Kinda like saying i picked up a grain of sand in the sahara to help cut down on dust storms

Silver

you'd think there'e be unlimited/open season on these
closer to my home we have a muskrat-like enroacher called a nutria. they are open season/unlimited bag. too bad they aren't tastier.

Well since i live in the good ole Republik de Kali theres a limit on everything. Luckily we have a few spots that they rummage around in barley fields for all their lives so the meat is excellent!!! Id love to be able to cap as many as i want so i could fill mine, my friends and my neighbors freezers. But as it is, the 3 i get takes care of just us for the year in pork with the occasional hunters bbq where we all bring the potluck of wild meat from our freezers. ;-)

reply to post by works4dhs


Yep. We've got them in Alabama as well. Since nothing preys on them, they just keep getting bigger and bigger. A few years ago a boy killed one here that weighed 1,051 pounds. Article Link