Missouri Department of Conservation, wraps up the first year of a five-year plan to eradicate feral hogs from the state.
by DONALD BRADLEY? | The Kansas City Star
TANEY COUNTY, Mo. (AP) � Dawn's early light belongs to the fog and a whip-poor-will.

A cool beginning to a spring mountain day. Only the bird's call stirs the wooded quiet.

Then, suddenly, a shrieking, frantic squeal. Hooves pound into the dirt. A wild hog races full speed across the makeshift enclosure and crashes headfirst into a wire panel.

Like a stock car into a wall. Then another one. And one after that. They try to climb atop one another.

Men nearby, their boots firmly planted, raise guns. Just in case the trap's panels give way. It's happened, but with bigger hogs. These are smaller, young and, most disappointingly, not nearly as many as the men want to find this recent morning.

�Look here,'' says James Dixon, a wildlife damage biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation, which just wrapped up the first year of a five-year plan to eradicate feral hogs from the state.

Dixon kneels in the mud. Signs of rooting and wallowing from the night surround the pen.

�They were all here, but only these young ones went inside,'' he says. �The older ones are too smart.''

And big and fast and destructive and mean and ugly. Now factor in prolific and savvy.

Despite years of aggressive kill measures, including aerial shooting, trapping, snares and �shoot on sight'' requests to hunters, the U.S. Department of Agriculture refers today to the �expanding'' problem of wild swine in America.

An estimated 6 million feral hogs, up from 2 million 20 years ago, some with big heads and sharp tusks linked to Russian boars of generations past, roam the country in collective �sounders'' of 15 or so, rooting up land and crops like four-legged diesel equipment.

The hogs used to be mainly a rural Southern problem. But now they're in 38 states and moving north, even into New England. They're encroaching on cities and treating parkland, gardens and golf courses like their own pigpens.

Sounders are as close to Kansas City as Truman Reservoir.

In Missouri and other states, conservation workers and farmers are constantly frustrated by people bringing in truckloads of the animals from other states and turning them loose. Kansas jumped on the problem early by banning sport hunting of hogs and is now a model for the rest of the country.

Costs of feral swine annual damage and control efforts, nationally: more than $1 billion, according to the USDA.

Jeremy Thomas is paying some of that. He farms bottom land along Indian Creek in McDonald County in the southwest corner of Missouri. On a recent day, he stood in a field and looked at a slight furrow running the length of a corn row.

Perfectly straight, as if made by machinery. No, hogs.

�Best I can tell, they put their snouts down and go to rooting,'' Thomas said. �They get to the end of the row, turn around and come back.''

They're after the hybrid seed corn he'd just put in the ground. At $250 per bag, he's reluctant to replant.

�They could be anywhere, just watching,'' Thomas said.

And waiting.

Wild hogs are like big rats. Three hundred pounds of nasty with sharp teeth. They kill small livestock and eat ground-nesting birds. They contaminate streams and cause erosion. They carry diseases, such as brucellosis and pseudorabies, both of which can be passed to domestic swine.

They devastate hunting areas because they compete with deer and turkey for food.

�They outsurvive other wildlife,'' Dixon said.

The rules on hunting these critters? Virtually none. Shoot on sight (in areas that allow hunting). As many as you want as often as you want. Out hunting and see a hog? Conservation officials say drop him, please. Drop two or three. Leave them for the sun to bake and coyotes to eat. Go on, treat the vultures.

Nobody cares.

�We're not out to manage them,'' Dixon said. �We want to wipe them out.''

So what is it exactly that makes the feral hog the neo-Nazi of the animal kingdom?

They have no friends. Nobody's out waving signs to �Save the Feral Hog.'' People who love wildlife and nature hate them. People who like them like them for one reason: to shoot them.

Please, can somebody say something good about this animal?

�They're easier to train than puppies,'' said John Mayer, who started studying wild hogs 40 years ago and tried to raise one in his house. �They're cute when they're little. Until they start to turn over furniture.

�And they're good eating. Except big boars stink when you cook them. I had a guy tell me once he had to bury a skillet in the backyard.''

Really, that's the good? You have to bury the skillet?

The bad?

�They are the worst, most invasive animal on the planet,'' said Mayer, the manager of the environmental science group at the Savannah River National Laboratory in Aiken, S.C. Mayer also co-authored �Wild Pigs in the United States: Their History, Comparative Morphology, and Current Status.''

Feral swine are not native to the U.S. They can be traced to hogs brought to the country in the 1500s by Spanish explorers and allowed to roam free. According to the USDA, the ranks of those early hogs multiplied over time by domestic hogs turned loose into the wild.

At some point, hunters brought in Russian wild boars, which mixed bloodlines with existing sounders.

Now we have gangs of tusked feral hogs that can run 35 mph, jump 3 feet high and, somehow, manage to climb out of a pen with sides 6 feet high. A common saying: �If a fence won't hold water, it won't hold wild hogs.''

They are highly intelligent, can live anywhere in any climate, and have sharp teeth and no natural predators.

Now add in two litters a year, six to 10 to a litter, and you get a �national pig explosion'' to the point that the USDA has asked for an additional $20 million in 2014 to fight the problem.

In Missouri, the Conservation Department has teamed with the USDA, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the Army Corps of Engineers to kill more than a thousand hogs in the first year of the state's eradication effort. No telling how many more have been killed by property owners and hunters.

�No state has a good handle on this, but we don't want to get like Texas, Florida and Georgia,'' said Rex Martensen, the state's feral hog coordinator for the Conservation Department.

Dixon talks about tales of hogs attacking humans. Overblown, he says. Like other wild animals, hogs will almost always run from people. They can be scary, though, he adds. One day he walked through high Johnson grass and surprised a bunch of hogs. They surprised him, too.

�Nothing but snouts and hooves,'' he says. �That'll make you jump.''

As I just posted on another thread, we've caught or killed 61 pigs on our place (about 1,000 acres) in the last 14 months. No telling how many we didn't get. We'd killed about 7-8 total in the previous 10 years.

I haven't check lately but it used to be that people with hog problems just wanted to bitch. Ask them to hunt the hogs and it was a quick, Hell no. miles

Letting people hunt them with no fees from land owners or govenment would help and lot. If they want fees let them live with the mess.

We all want something for free it would seem. A bunch of rednecks you don't know running around your property with rifles, what could go wrong..

Why don't they address the feral horse, cat, and dog problems at the same time?

Well I guess they can keep their damn hogs then. miles

I like to take the kids down to Walmart around 5:30, 6:00, when most folks are home for dinner. Most evenings that's when the feral people come out. I just tell the boys, "You stay close by me, don't stare, don't make any fast moves, just watch 'em."

The article hit on it, Kansas outlawed killing of wild hogs to prevent outfitters from dumping trailer loads of them to create a hog population. So far so good over there, only a couple of herds that the state keeps mostly in check with aerial gunning.

Here in Missouri more bears are being spotted where bears aren't supposed to be spotted. Maybe the state is releasing bears to go after the piglets?

There are rumors of wild hogs down in the central part of the state. Hoping they don't come up here, knowing they probably will.

I'm glad there's an up side.

TN took them of the Big Game list and you can't shoot them now without landowners permission

Wild Hog Status In Tennessee
Wild hogs cause extensive damage to crops, wildlife habitat, contribute to erosion and water pollution, and carry diseases harmful to livestock and other animals as well as humans. The damage they cause has become more common and widespread as during the last fifteen years as they have gone from being present in 15 counties in Tennessee to being present in nearly 80 of a total of 95 counties. In 1999, TWRA made an attempt to control the expansion of the wild hog population by opening a statewide wild hog season with no bag limit. Unfortunately, it was during this period of unlimited hunting that the wild hog population expanded the most. Disjointed populations of hogs began to occur in areas of Tennessee where they had never existed before as the result of illegal stocking by individuals whose goal was to establish local hunting opportunities.
In 2011, new regulations were enacted that changed wild hog management. Wild hogs are no longer regarded as big game animals in Tennessee. In order to remove the incentive to relocate wild hogs, they are now considered a destructive species to be controlled by methods other than sport hunting.
It is illegal to possess, transport, or release live wild hogs.

Wild Hog Control For Landowners
Landowners have more opportunity than ever before to control wild hogs on their properties. They can shoot wild hogs year-round during the day without limit and trap with bait outside of big game seasons. Furthermore, landowners may obtain an exemption from their TWRA regional office enabling them to kill wild hogs at night using a spotlight, and to trap year-round. In addition, landowners in a four-county (Fentress, Cumberland, Pickett, and Overton) experimental area may use dogs as a wild hog control method. Family members and tenants that qualify under the Farmland Owner License Exemption and up to ten additional designees may help private landowners with wild hog control efforts. For properties over 1000 acres, an additional designee per 100 acres may be assigned. No licensing requirements exist for landowners or their designees. In order to renew each year, exemption holders are required to report the number of hogs killed on their property and the manner in which they were killed to TWRA. Landowners may also take advantage of technical assistance provided by TWRA to help with a trapping program or additional wild hog control techniques.
ATTENTION: ON JULY 31st, 2014, LEASE EXEMPTIONS FOR HOG ERADICATION WILL EXPIRE. Hunting lease members that were assisting landowners with wild hog eradication efforts will need to be placed on a landowner exemption if they wish to continue with eradication efforts. Restrictions on the number of individuals per exemption may apply.

Wild Hog Control For Public Land
In Region I, on the Land Between the Lakes WMA, wild hogs may be taken incidental to any hunt.
In Region III, wild hogs may be taken incidental to deer hunts on the following WMAs: Alpine Mountain, Bridgestone-Firestone Centennial Wilderness, Catoosa, Skinner Mountain, Standing Stone State Forest, and Tellico Lake. Wild hogs may be taken on any deer or bear hunt on South Cherokee WMA. There are also the following wild hog control seasons in which the use of dogs is permitted: two five-day control seasons on Catoosa WMA and one three-day control season on Skinner Mountain WMA.
In Region IV, wild hogs may be taken on any big game hunt on the North Cherokee; any deer or turkey hunt on Kyker Bottoms Refuge; and on any hunt, small game or big game, on the Foothills WMA and the entire North Cumberland WMA.
On the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, wild hogs may be taken with a special permit during any deer hunts and by small game hunters after the deer season.
Refer to the regulations for individual WMAs and public hunting areas to determine how and when hogs can be taken.
Wild hogs can also be taken incidental to scheduled bear-dog hunts.

Illegal to shoot wild hogs in Nebraska without permission from the state.

To date I think there's only been a couple hundred wild pigs found and killed in the state, many of them along the border of Kansas. Hope it stays that way.

The article did not actually say what the state was "doing" to eliminate the hogs - except banning "sport hunting". I'm assuming all you folks who think you should be allowed to hunt for free on private land will consider yourself "sport hunters" - or do you expect the landowners to pay you to invade their property? A biologist in Louisiana famously stated, "Boys, we ain't gonna BBQ our way out of this hog mess!", but I don't see that banning or limiting hunting is a positive step. In Texas, it is illegal to buy, sell or transport FEMALE feral hogs for relocation. You can stock boars to hunt, but not sows, as boars without sows don't reproduce real well. In addition, no feral hog can be sold except to a state-licensed hog buyer, and they must be alive, so the proper inspections can be made of the meat before and after slaughter. Even at that, I think they are only for the export market.

As a landowner, albeit of a fairly small piece of land, I have had more problems with trespassers that with hogs. The hogs don't steal from me, break into facilities, or shoot holes in things - and I can shoot the hogs without having to fill out a police report and call my attorney. USED TO BE, people would ask landowners politely if they could hunt on their property, mind their manners, and obey the law. That doesn't happen so much anymore, and anyone behaving as though it is their right to hunt on private land, or that they are doing the landowner a great big favor by hunting on property he has a large investment in may be disappointed.

If I had a larger piece of property, I would gladly invite hog hunters, but they would be expected to pay a fee which would help me with the cost of the property, taxes, upkeep, expense of stands and feeders and my time in maintaining all this, plus disposal of hog carcasses and "guts". There would also be a fee for skinning and quartering, for those who did not want to do it themselves. The hunters would get the chance for an exciting hunt at a reasonable expense (a bargain compared to other "big game" hunting), and I could recover at least some of my expenses and figure a property tax savings in the bargain. Personally, I think if MORE interest were shown by state game departments in "managing" feral hogs as a sporting animal they could provide extra income to both the state and private landowners. One only has to look at the ads for special hog hunting ammo, guns, scopes, lights, attractants, scents, and other products to understand there is a market for hog hunting - and the folks who buy thins stuff probably don't ask the manufacturers to give it to them, because hogs are a problem.They are also not really being utilized as a source of food, leather, or other products that make domestic hogs valuable.

We've been over this before here, but I will gladly keep "my" hogs before I'll let strangers have free access to my property to hunt (actually, I don't allow paid hunting, either, as my property is too small to provide a marketable hunt). I'll think about ya'll while we're eating sausage, hams, pulled pork, fried backstraps,ribs, and pork roasts. They weren't free for me, either.

By the way, a 300 pound feral hog is a BIG hog, and not as common as the news media imagines.

They will never make it in Wisconsin. There are 600,000 deer hunters, 300,000 bow hunters that will shoot them. We can track them in the snow 24/7. I know many southerners that think I'm crazy though. We have nothing to do all winter and tracking them in the snow with dogs is a way many hunt coyotes with a lot of success. They can't dig roots in the frost all winter neither so baiting them with corn should be very effective. As for southern farmers, I always here them complain about hogs on these hunting threads. Not one ever lets others hunt them on their land without a good chunk of change up front. Us hunters will gladly make a deal. We hunt your land and shoot pigs that are supposedly ruining your crops. The government agencies ( that can't do anything under budget) will not be needed. Everyone should be a winner. I don't know why this needs to seem so difficult. I understand Steelhead not wanting any "hunter" on a piece of land. On the other hand we are moslty decent people and shouldn't be a problem for most of us.

I personally wouldn't ask to hunt hogs , the land owner would have to ask me if he is having a problem and needs them hunted and shot.

Why?

Because i would rather spend my time hunting and calling Coyotes

That would work if hunting them was that easy. It's not.

A friend of mine is working on his PhD In College Station, Texas. Another Grad student who is graduating soon asked him to take over for him hunting hogs on a local farmers property after he's gone. The farmer had asked him to find another student to take over.

Now my friend is a redneck running around on someone else's property with a gun. At least when he's not working on his dissertation.

Bb

We have the same bitching here in CO, ranchers claiming elk are eating all their hay. They either state no hunting or want a $500 trespass fee to shoot a measily old cow.

u could "live trap" (lol) a couple wolves -feed them "hogs for a week or two then turn-m-loose... a couple months/one breeding season and u will have no pigs ...then no yotes....then no dogs /cat/livestock.........mother nature rules :/when man steps in it...

Ship 'em all to Chicago. Fatback and chitlins ya know. Make a hellava block party. "O" can make a speach. Undoubtably most of the boars will want to breed with the first pig.

Once they become established in any region with sufficient escape cover, you will never -- repeat, never -- get rid of them. They are too smart, adaptable and prolific.

What he said.

The only saving grace regarding my property is that we have a lot of bottomland refuge that surrounds us. When the acorns begin hitting the ground, the pigs move down into the bottoms and mostly leave us alone during the fall deer season. They come back around late December when there isn't much left to eat in the bottomland. That being said, the deer not only compete with the hogs, they flat out don't like them. I had a good boar come in last year on a cold November morning and run off three bucks. He was the only pig I saw in October/November and I got rid of him. Our game cameras often show a lot of deer activity in a given location until the hogs come in. After that, it is generally 80% hog pics and 20% deer pics. That wouldn't be good during the prime part of deer season.

If all they can manage is to kill 1000 a year, time to give up. That won't hardly dent a pig population at all.

Are you saying that nothing could go wrong with a bunch of paying rednecks you don't know running around your property with rifles?

You're dreamin' bud. You can't get rid of all of them with helicopters and machine guns. If they could see at all you'd never kill any.

that pic is reminding me to see about a silencer for the AR.

Illegal aliens? No ... what?

Amazing how folks that have never had to deal with them, have no clue on how bad they can be.

The OP is not completely accurate about hunting feral hogs in Missouri.

While they have shoot on sight all that you can when hunting other game, they do not want you to go hunting FOR feral hog. I do not think much of the Missouri �Plan.�

This is one of the few times I have been in complete disagreement with the powers that be:

�Why Is Hunting For Feral Hogs Discouraged?
Although it seems a contradiction, hunters who target feral hogs interfere with efforts to eradicate them. For example, weeks may be spent conditioning a group of hogs to come to a specific location so they can be eliminated in a single control action. If, during that time, a hunter kills one or maybe two of the hogs, the rest of the group moves to a new area, which means that the lengthy and expensive eradication process must begin again at a new location. Because the goal is to eliminate feral hogs, the Conservation Department seeks to discourage the hog hunting culture.
If you want to hunt specifically for feral hogs, you should do so in another state, not in Missouri.
[�]
Because the Conservation Department seeks to discourage the hog-hunting culture in Missouri, it will not provide any information about known feral hog presence or location.
[�]
Although the Conservation Department discourages hunting specifically for feral hogs in Missouri, hunters afield for other game should shoot feral hogs on sight.�

Missouri might be more ignorant about hog control than I'd thought....

So in Missouri, you can take your rifle out into the woods, spot a hog, shoot and kill it, but if asked about it, you have to claim that you shot it while actually hunting for something else?

Yup, but coyotes are open most all year so it's easy to claim.

I shot that hog in self defense�no, wait, I shot it in de fence�

Sure, because then I could pay for liability insurance. People are [bleep] and I trust a bunch of hunters from blue states heading south in the winter to 'help' with the pig problem about as much as I trust Obama.

We will never eradicate feral hogs. All we can do is control the population.

Best control is a combination of trapping and hunting. Hunting is done best with suppressed semi-auto rifles at night using night vision scopes, or green/red high-power lights.

On my deer lease here in west TX we've had no hogs for several years, which is good for the deer population. We had some re-appear this past winter, so the landowners let all the hunting leaseholders in the area know about it, and within about a month the half-dozen hogs that had moved in were all transformed into roasts and burger. But it took a high-intensity effort on the part of a couple dozen hunters and several landowners.

sadly, i agree. a lot of landowners in the southeast bought into stocking or allowing hogs to be stocked to help with hunting demand for land, and therefore a bump for lease prices.

it has worked in a few locales, but mostly we've succeeded in turning the hogs into pests and vermin. while competing against deer and turkeys, the lord only knows what affect they've had on re-establishing the bobwhite quail population.

we are covered up with feral hogs. dog hunters can drive them out of an area, but as soon as the dogging stops the hogs return.

wisconsin had a small pop of wild hogs in the south west corner of the state, They never gained a foothold due to deer hunters going apeshit killing as many as possible + the cold cold winters with lots of snow they were poorly adapted.

In Wisconsin I don't think they can breed twice in a year. Too cold, no food in winter. In Wisconsin, by the time winter is done the woods is almost lifeless in huge areas. You can go a long ways and not even see a track of anything. Not even a squirrel or rabbit track. There is nothing for a pig to eat,, unless he lives off of browse like a deer. Do they eat browse like a deer?? Anyway. And like acooper1983 said, we had some. Every cotton pickin deer hunter wanted to shoot one. Farmers got down right mad about folks asking. When it is 20 below zero an mature buck will come in to a pile of corn right in the daytime. A hog will do the same in the middle of winter. We have an advantage over the southern hunters and can track them in the snow for miles. Just a thought, not saying I know it all about hogs.

they eat any and everything.

I think a pure strain russian boar could prolly make it, but a feral hog i dont think would do well as cold as it gets and as snowy as it gets.

You might track them in snow, but hogs are hard to pattern. They might decide to "travel", and go an amazing distance before actually stopping. As to shooting them at night with semi-autos and night vision, maybe so, maybe no. Helicopter hunts with machine guns, as also stated, haven't worked to eradicate them, they just learn to run and hide at the sound of a chopper, and a suppressed rifle won't attract hogs, you still have to find them. The very best way to move them off a property is to dog 'em, and dog 'em hard. They don't like dogs, for good reason, and will move to another area when pressured hard. That's really about the best you can hope for, is to reduce their numbers some, and move them from one area to another. The combination of traps and dogs works well, but again, the majority will survive and just move somewhere else. And, yes, they'll eat about anything, from the bark off the roots of pine saplings to cattle feed.

they might find winter kill pretty tasty.

Yeah, the Russian wild boars do OK. There's a place up in the UP, a high-fence operation, that has 'em. Buddy of mine hunted them in winter there a few years ago. The boars are magnificent.

Only thing that puzzles me is why they took so long to reach present numbers, what was holding 'em back?

I have references to enormous feral hog numbers in East Texas in the early nineteenth century, so much so you couldn't camp out without them overrunning your camp site, and of droves of poor folk living on nothing but feral hogs.

What happened to 'em all between then and now?

Way back in the early Eighteenth Century there were so many free range hogs in New England that the local Indians actually switched to a hog-based economy. King Phillip, of King Phillip's war, being active in the hog trade, disputes related to hog ownership in part kicking off that major bloodletting.

What happened to all them pigs since then?

Likewise in England by the Sixteenth Century, wild boars were exterminated. How on earth did they pull that off back then?

Birdwatcher

Some great question there Birdwatcher, good thinking. I don't have a clue on the answers though.

disease more than likely.

Why do you think that's amazing? We never had to deal with them so how would we know how bad they can be.

In New York State, "Cochecton" down around Narrowsburg is a Delaware Algonquin term dating from at least the early Eighteenth Century, translating to "place of wild hogs".

"Coshocton" as in Coshocton County Ohio, means the same thing, likewise originating with Delaware usage after they removed there.

So it ain't like feral hogs weren't ever in those places before either.

Birdwatcher

Idaho has a very small herd located near JC Strike Reservoir in the so. central part of the state. The IDFG says that they're not wildlife so they don't come under their jurisdiction. They'd like to see them all shot before they start affecting the wildlife. If you see one, bang...although private land trespassing regulations do apply.

There's only 1 way they could have got to where they are...illegal introduction. It's way too far from any other population for a small herd to have just wandered in without help.

When the next great depression hits there will be no more feral hogs.

They are prolific and adaptable. About as smart as an ear of corn.

Up until right around the time that I was born, Arkansas had free range and you had to fence animals out of you crops instead of fencing to keep them in. As a young man there were a few pockets of wild hogs still around but by the time that I was old enough to hunt, they were all gone, in this area. Wild hogs here disappeared between 1950 and 1960. People where they were shot them and trapped them and somehow exterminated them. miles

Hunting with dogs maybe? Maybe that makes the difference, I dunno if hogs can lose a tracking hound, kill it maybe, but out-fox it on a scent trail? I dunno.

Birdwatcher

Apparently wild hogs were in a lot of places that they no longer are. What happened to them? Do ya think one day they all just walked down to Texas to live?

Just this very minute I'm wondering if hunting with dogs ain't the answer to running down every last one of 'em in an area.

That's how it was done back in history, bringing the pig to bay first and then killing it.

Birdwatcher

During the free range days here most people had a stock dog that would ear a hog. Now these hogs were not as wild as a Russian boar (maybe) but they would catch the sows and mark the pigs (castrate and ear mark) with the mark that the sow had. Maybe by keeping the boar population down it helped with the numbers. I don't know and all the ones that I could ask are now dead. miles

disease is the only thing that could come close to killing hogs out.

Dogs will keep them out of areas for a time after you run them but they'll be back.

They are not in all areas, since not all areas have the right foods etc.... for them. But once in an area they will always be around. See DR's note RE west texas lease...

They are in my area here, but we have NEVER had one on the place that we've known about. For some reason I think mostly the roads, I sit in a V between 2 FM roads and intersection, and the predominant wind is south, and blows from a large slum lords crappy housing project into our place... I suspect both road traffic, human noise etc.... keesp them off our place. The deer are used to that crap though thankfully.

RE no food in WI... well there is enough food in the mountains of New Mexico under snow parts of the year, and I'd have never believed I'd have seen them at 8000 feet on a mountain.. but those were the biggest ferals I've ever seen and in a not small group either.. As STXHUNTER noted, they will eat anytthing at all. Do not underestimate hogs.

6 million, eh?

Is that from the census bureau or the bureau of vital statistics?

Or maybe the nsa has been hacking their personal records and provided the data.


I say leave 'em alone, pigs are easy to get along with. They don't set ied's or chop of heads and are good eating if cooked right.

I say focus on muslims and communists and other stinking destructive vermin. They're easier to find and pose much more serious threat.
There's a helluva lot more than 6 millions of the fuggers, too.

Huntin' fun for everyone!
Lock and load.

Quite a number here have expressed their desire to go shoot hogs, therefore helping the farmer/rancher, if they didn't have to pay the landowner. So would I but the thought here is that hunters would do more damage than the hogs. Surely the landowner could quickly screen the would be hunters and cull out the ones that seemed like the type to be overly careless.

They did it here some way or the other and I don't think disease. Disease would have got into the tame hogs and my Grandfather and Dad always had a bunch of tame hogs. We had lots of woods back in those days, in fact the clearing and planting soybeans started in the early to mid sixty's. Up until that time it was small acreage that was planted. Our cotton allotment was eighteen acres and we raised about twenty acres of corn and the rest was pasture and woods. There were no big farms until you got into the Grand Praire, where they were raising rice. The ground was not flat enough here until later when they had large equipment and then there was some rice raised. Turns out it was ideal land for raising minnows. miles

Not only pay, but the ones that I talked to way back when, acted like they were trophy elk or something. miles

They will dig up and eat the roots of trees. Do you have trees in Wisconsin?

Famines fried a lot of hogs.

The pigs in East Texas were not "wild". They were free ranging livestock. The animals were a valuable asset to every family and controlled by harvest and sale. When open range became a thing of the past, so did the ability to mark and catch the hogs. As far as England is concerned, I suspect the fact that it is a pretty small place has something to do with it. I 'm not familiar with the terrain, but I suspect it is a little different than the southern United States, as is New England.

Illegal aliens are easy to round up. Put a plain clothed ICE agent in every hospital emergency room and you would have them all inside of a month. Because it's free!

This ^ is what Pa. did a couple of years back when hogs were getting started here. During rifle deer season, it was kill any you see. After deer season, then the Game Commission and USDA didn't want you out there stirring things up. It didn't take much disturbance to make the hogs change their routine. The control efforts were aimed at gathering and killing whole 'family' groups in one bunch, not shooting one hog today and maybe finding another tomorrow.

It seemed to work, I belong to Farm Bureau and haven't heard anything recently from them about the hogs, the farmers were really complaining about the damage.

BTW, the farmers did let folks hunt at first but then the idiots showed up and drove their big 4WD trucks across the farmers newly seeded alfalfa or cut fences or... Just a few bad apples really screwed the opportunity for most folks.

Dale

Id' bet habitat change one way or another rather than eradication.

Disease is about the only thing that keeps hog populations in check. Plenty of hogs in Siberia and are multiplying within Moose Mountain Provincial Park, as well as throughout Saskatchewan. So cold weather probably won't be enough.

Below is off a Texas site about the diseases..

Hog diseases that could have severe repercussions for agribusiness include swine brucellosis, pseudorabies, leptospirosis, tuberculosis, tularemia, trichinosis, plague, anthrax, hog cholera and swine vesicular disease.
Feral hogs are susceptible to a variety of infectious and parasitic diseases. The more hog populations increase and expand, the greater the chances that they may transmit diseases to other wildlife, to livestock and to humans.

Government BS...

http://www.tahc.state.tx.us/animal_health/swine/2008Aug_FeralSwineRegulationsAndComments.pdf

TPWD is studying poison as a more effective method of controlling hogs.

http://wildpigconference.com/pdf/2012%20International%20Wild%20Pig%20Conference%20Program.pdf

Effects of Sodium Nitrite on Feral Swine and Non-Target Species
Justin A. Foster1, Tyler Campbell2, and Daniel Gray1,
1Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Kerr Wildlife Management Area, Hunt, Texas
2United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, Florida Field Station, Gainesville, FL 32641, USA
Toxicants have been shown to be an effective control measure for wild pigs. One such toxicant, sodium nitrite, was labeled the �Achilles Heel� of wild pigs because of their unique sensitivity to the substance relative to other mammals. In the United States, where no toxicants are labeled for use and where pig populations continue to expand their range and abundance, further research is needed for developing more cost effective control tools. The objective of this study was to determine relative sensitivities of feral pigs, raccoons, and white-tailed deer. We conducted oral gavage trials at the Kerr Wildlife Management Area, Hunt, Texas. Absorbance coefficients for hemoglobin derivatives were estimated at four wavelengths (535, 585, 594, and 626 nanometers). Median lethal doses were estimated with Up-And-Down procedures and were further assessed with fixed dose trials at 113 mg/kg. Control specimens survived anesthesia and water gavage. Raccoons were more sensitive than pigs or deer with MLD and LD50 values estimated at 50 mg/kg and 58 mg/kg respectively. Raccoons expired more rapidly than pigs or deer with a mean time to death of 42.0 � 7.2 minutes. Our data indicate that raccoons are more sensitive to sodium nitrite than feral pigs. Conversely, deer were less sensitive than feral pigs. Although wild pigs are not uniquely sensitive to sodium nitrite, sensitivity of raccoons and white-tailed deer is such that they are at low risk of intoxication when sodium nitrite based baits are coupled with target specific delivery systems. We recommend that sodium nitrite continue to be evaluated as a candidate toxicant with emphasis on non-target risk and target specific delivery systems.

I raised Blackmouth Curs for cow working and hog hunting for 18 years and I had no idea how widespread feral hogs were until I started selling them.

A fella from South of Roswell bought a pair to hunt hogs with and this was back in the early 'nineties.

None of the folks I knew used hounds for hog hunting. Hounds are open on track and not fast enough to catch a hog that's been alerted by the dog's mouth. That's the opinion of most, but won't count for much around this 'fire.

Also, most hounds are not very athletic and a boar with decent cutters will sure hurt 'em in thick cover. A cur is pretty quick, but they can get get cut up as well.

I've killed a lot of hogs in Cottle and King Counties, just off the Caprock, but I've killed and trapped more here close to home.

In both areas, I noticed the same thing about hogs. There will be a barrier of sorts, usually a hiway, and a big population will be on one side, with no hogs on the other for several years.

Then, they just explode on the other side of the barrier. It's not a slow encroachment, either. My place was 4 miles west of Hiway 281 with no hogs between me and the hiway for years. Then that whole 4 mile stretch filled up with them overnite, practically.

Shooting them at feeders just turns them nocturnal. Good night vision goggles, a 12 ga. with buckshot, and a red dot scope can really put a hurt on 'em ONE TIME according to my buddies in S.Texas.

Dogging them will move 'em out of a pasture if you hit 'em pretty often. Trapping can put a dent in 'em, as well. My FIL up at Paducah trapped from November to the middle of Jan in the early 'nineties.

He caught over 350 hogs that weighed a hundred pounds or more, and made over 8000 bucks in the process! That was when the prices got the highest.

Cholera or poison is the only thing that will stop 'em, and nobody's gonna use either nowadays.

Thanks for the detailed input, just goes to prove the 'Fire is a remarkable place

I would much prefer a Pb delivery system.

Farmers used to occasionally round up the wild hogs and mark them with notches cut in the ears. It was like branding with the numbers of notches telling who they belonged to. Notching piglets wasn't all that hard if you could stand the noise but the sows needed careful watching if you wanted to stay healthy.

I've killed lots of hogs. We still have them. There are fewer now than there were before but they are still there. They learn very rapidly how to stay alive.

I believe the answer to the hog problem is a combination of all means and methods which kill hogs. Farmers here welcome dog hunters during the growing season, not so much for their efficiency in killing hogs but because nightly forays by the hunters and dogs keeps the hogs on the move. Incidentally, hog dogs don't really understand the concept of personal property lines and they cannot read "No Trespassing" signs. Hog hunters just follow the dogs. A good pack of dogs and hunters can catch and kill about 10 hogs in a night in an area where there are lots of hogs and the terrain allows it. With fewer hogs and thick brush you're going to run a lot more. It only takes one big boar hog to take a good sized divot out of your catch dog population also. The dogs keep the pigs moving but they aren't the whole answer.

Some years back we started shooting on sight. Now we can't get within 500 yards of a hog on our place, but it keeps them moving. We set traps. We caught piglets and a few big hogs but now the corn gets eaten right up to the door of the trap. big ranches and farmers band together to hire helicopters. They run them for miles and shoot them with everything from shot guns to machine guns. It keeps them moving. After a while helicopter rides become cost ineffective. Over in the rice country they set up huge lights and generators in the rice fields set up crossfires and flip on the lights and kill hundreds of hogs in a night. It keeps them moving. Ranchers in South Texas set up feeders and ambush dozens of hogs at night using shotguns with 00 buckshot to put holes in as many as possible. It keeps them moving.

They just keep moving.


I think that it was indeed probably disease that held them in check in years past. There has always been a population of wild or feral hogs but their numbers ebbed and flowed. As we reduced livestock diseases there are less transmissions of those diseases to wild hogs, and their numbers grow.

I've read accounts of cattle drives stopping to put up salt pork for use on the drives. There's been enough wild hogs in the past 4 centuries for this. A reduction in boar hogs from castrating really won't have much effect on populations except insuring that only the smartest, fastest and most uncatchable boars breed the sows. I've read accounts of families and whole communities in the 19th century spending months out in the river bottoms hunting and putting up hogs. There has been no shortage of them for some time.

Disease is the key but no one is prepared to introduce the diseases that kill hogs back into the wild. Eradication methods just keep them moving and that's likely our best bet.

One of my favorite quotes is "Always present a moving target". I suppose that was coined by a hog.

Alan

i've always believed that bobcats, coyotes and feral dogs all predate on young pigs but they don't seem to be putting a dent in the feral hog population. reintroduction of the red wolf in smokey mtn national park might be helping to hold the pig population down.

Wolves do not belong in the lower 48 for all practical purposes anymore.

All true, but in the case of hogs seems like the line between "free range" and "feral" is a tad nebulous. ONe things for sure, to a degree that ain't commonly appreciated pork and hog lard were both staples across the early South at least.

IIRC England is about the same land area as New York State, about one-third the size of Texas. Of course not all of it was good boar habitat but it ain't really a small place, especially back in the days.

Birdwatcher

I havent read the whole thread, but there is a difference in 'free ranging' and 'feral' hogs. Also people use the term 'wild hog', and this is confusing because then you dont know which hog they are talking about. Probably better terms would be 'domesticated and non-domesticated' hogs.

You turn any domestic hogs loose and in a generation or two at the most, they will become wild. This doesnt mean they will become feral hogs, unless they cross breed. Domestic hogs have been bred to make the tusk, standing hair, etc. a recessive gene, thus it is not likely that these characteristics will appear in just a few generations. If that was the case, then how did people have free-ranging hogs for 100+ years and the characteristics didnt show up then.

Non-domesticated or feral hogs have not had these characteristics bred out of them and the gene that causes these characteristics are dominant genes, meaning that they will appear in the offspring within a generation or two. The introduction of Russian boars has greatly increased the introduction of these genes (and others) that cause a hog to be a feral one.

Breeding a domesticated hog with another domesticated hog will never produce a feral hog.
Breeding a domesticated hog with a non-domestic hog will produce feral hogs in a generation or at the most a few generations.
Breeding a non-domesticated hog with another non-domesticated hog will never produce domesticated hog.

Note: In genetics, using the word never is not good. There are always examples of natural oddities. Such as a mule that isnt sterile, very rare, but it does happen once in a while.

Lots of folks kept a couple of "lard hogs" up in pens while the rest roamed free. The lard hogs were fed corn until some of them got so fat they could hardly walk.

Lard was the one thing that only a hog could provide in sufficient quantity. I never heard of Texans relying on bears for grease like in other places.

As a kid I kept wood on the fire around the big cast iron pot we used to render out the lard. When waxed paper came out, Mama cooled the lard in cake pans and put it up in squares instead of putting it in Mason jars.

We never had a smokehouse, so our pork was all just straight out sugar cured or salted.

"You turn any domestic hogs loose and in a generation or two at the most, they will become wild. This doesnt mean they will become feral hogs, unless they cross breed. Domestic hogs have been bred to make the tusk, standing hair, etc. a recessive gene, thus it is not likely that these characteristics will appear in just a few generations. If that was the case, then how did people have free-ranging hogs for 100+ years and the characteristics didnt show up then."

I think you are wrong about recessive vs. dominant genes with regard to hog tusks , hair, etc., but I'm not going to argue it.

Those free-ranging hogs of East Texas were NOT wild. They could be herded into pens by good dogs. Some of them, of course, did become feral.

Do you really think that domestic hogs don't have tusks?

For the most part true about the later Anglo settlers in Texas. Just easier to raise a hog. But hey did use the bear grease when obtained. The French, in colonial times, on the other hand shipped 1000's of gallons for bear oil out of natchitoches and the Rapides settlements down the Red River to New Orleans. As they ventured as far as the present IH 35 corridor in Texas on a general basis. Or at least traded with he "Sauvages". Even tho candles we're still the main light source it's main use by the French was as lamp oil!

Another interesting point from this same time period. It was still the deer skin trade. And generally the deer carcasses were left to rot while the French habitants dined on pork.

I remember when I was a kid, my dad would cut the tusks on baby pigs with a pair of side cutter pliers when he castrated them. I have seen them so bad that they would cut the mothers teats when very small and have to be cut before the piglets were big enough to castrate. miles

Different oils were better for different things. I think bear oil was prized for use with black powder guns and I know that goose fat was supposed to be the best for pie crust. I also know that fish cooked in hog lard is hard to beat. miles

Absolutely! Seemed a waste to use bear oil in a lamp but they had an abundance of it. Naturally it was used for other things as well.

Many European armies use "sweet oil" on their guns. AKA olive oil!

Sure domestic hogs have tusk, but did you ever see a domestic hog with a tusk that protruded out or was as long as a feral hogs. Heck, you have canine teeth or did when you were younger, but are they as prominent as a dogs or bears canine teeth.

Think about it this way... All hogs come from a more or less common animal ( not getting into creation here). Man took the wild hog and bred it like he wanted it, the same as a cow or horse or dog. He bred it for the traits he wanted in the animal. Over time, the traits he didnt want and bred not to come out in the animal, became recessive. A good example would be a polled hereford vs a horned hereford. Somebody didnt want a horned hereford and bred herefords without horns and now you have herefords without horns, the horned gene is recessive in these animals. But if you cross a horned hereford with a polled hereford, most of the offspring will have horns, small for the first generation, but if they continue to breed with horned herefords, the horns will be back in a generation or so.

"Those free-ranging hogs of East Texas were NOT wild. They could be herded into pens by good dogs. Some of them, of course, did become feral."

Of course, they were domesticated hogs and like I said before, genetics can produce oddities. The feral genes are there, just recessive. And if left alone to breed however they want and can, as in free-ranging hogs, the feral genes have a better chance to show up, thus a percentage of the hogs will become feral over a period of generations. Back when free-ranging hogs were common, the owners would make sure to remove any that showed signs of becoming feral hogs. If a sow had the tendency to produce pigs that grew longer than usual tusks, she was eliminated (eaten). Although the hogs were free-ranging, they still were domesticated hogs.

You ever seen a Red Angus calf in a pasture of registered Black Angus cattle. It happens, because the red color is a recessive gene in black angus cattle. Same with hogs, the recessive gene is there, but unless it is allowed to become domanent, it doesnt show up very often.

Yes. miles

I have too, but it is not common in domestic hogs. Probably should have made that clearer.. If you study genetics long enough, you begin to realize the possibility of most anything showing up at any time. Rare occasions, but they do happen.

Its the same with people... bearded women, people with more or less than 5 fingers or toes on a hand or foot, the Mexican family that is covered with hair,... these are examples.

YEAH Missouri has always got a plan haha used to work for those idiots all they do is plan> They were always going to write a 15 year plan for some area hell the manager didn't even know what was going on there today let a alone 15 years from now All they do is have meetings to plan to make a plan to have more meetings to make a plan. Always looks good on paper but if ya don't put it on the ground it ain't $hit!!!!!!!!!!

I say leave them alone, let them populate. When the depression hits we'll need all we can get our hands on, beats eating the local dogs after we decimate the other game animals.

Feral: gone wild: describes animals or plants that live or grow in the wild after having been domestically reared or cultivated...feral cats

I asked you once before what position you held with the MDC and didn't reply. I am curious what work you did for MDC and why you have such a hard on for them.

I assume in Asia, the tigers and brown bears keep the wild pigs in check. Maybe not so much anymore, as they have much declined in numbers.

I have heard that mountain lions will kill small pigs, but the bigger ones run them off. I think there's a Youtube vid of pigs chasing a mountain lion, catching it, and giving it a bad time.

It would seem like the jaguar could make a pretty good living on wild pigs, even bigger boars. Wonder if we'll start seeing some come out of Mexico and start setting up shop.

Not to be nitpicking, but to get the terminology right...A gene is recessive or it isn't. It doesn't change dominance. A dominant gene cannot become recessive through breeding or vice versa. I think you're talking about homo and heterozygosity in gene pairs.

A gene for red angus cattle doesn't become dominant. If you have the recessive gene on both sides of a gene pair, you have a homozygous recessive. It's still recessive and will never become dominant. If you have a red herd, you will never get a black because the dominant genes for black have been eliminated.

Hungry people can keep a lot of animals in check and even decimate large herds very quickly.

There you go; confusing this genetics expert with facts.

Left alone for only a few generations, almost all feral hogs with no Russian in their gene pool will become black, because black is a dominant COLOR gene.

And a domestic boar has just as much chance of growing large cutters as a feral hog if he is turned out to fend for himself.

For what it's worth, I saw a home video once that, when played in slow motion, revealed a hog's lower jaw becoming practically unhinged when he swung his head defensively. It increased his cutting radius by quite a bit. It was too fast to see with the naked eye, but explained how even an experienced bay dog can misjudge and get cut, even out in the open.

Also, in the FWIW vein;

I was in Pensacola on business and we ate supper at a place called;"The Boar's Den" or something. I was seated facing the feral hog's head that was mounted on the wall.

It was not a particularly large hog, and something about it was strange. Upon examining it closer, I saw that the taxidermist had the cutters coming out of the hog's UPPER jaw!

I gotta admit that it looked more impressive that way.

I'd bet money that feral hogs, sows and shoats, can be herded with good dogs, just like them free-range hogs 200 years ago.

I was all stirred up to hunt hogs back in the 80's and studied up on them a bit.

It's been a while, but from what I recall,...people used to free range their hogs in the southeastern mountains. Many of them were never harvested and went feral. That's where most of the wild hog population originated from.

Also, some fat cat back in the late 1800's imported some Russian Boar and put them in a fenced off reserve for him and his fat cat buddies to hunt,..I forget the loacation,...but it was in the southeastern U.S.

As soon as his back was turned the boar rooted under the fences and were gone.

Obviously, they bred with the feral hog population.

The wild hogs with a lot of Russian boar genes are referred to as "mulefoot" boars,...because they don't have a cloven hoof like domesticated hogs.

Even without the Russian Boar genes, a feral hog will regress into a black, long snouted, narrow rumped, tusk bearing, hot tempered chunk of ham after a few generations,...which doesn't take all that long.

i've heard tell of taxidermists extracting the real cutters and installing much larger plastic cutters for the added drama and adventure.

There is also a domestic breed with mule feet. miles

mulefooted is a whole other breed.

everything you want to know about feral hogs can be found in this web site. http://www.texasboars.com/

http://www.texasboars.com/articles/mulefoot.html

THE MULE FOOTED HOG and its ORIGIN
Reported by Kevin Ryer

Here in East Tx we run across the rare breed only occasionally. They seem rather prolific around Athens, Palestine, Van and Lindale areas. All the MuleFoots I have ran across were prodominately black and tan in color.
When trapped they were unusually aggressive strong animals. More so than the normal feral hogs. Early research indicated that the hogs were first introduced to the US by Easterners in the Early Railroad Days. But I have found no written or historical evidence to back up that claim.

The following information was obtained from an Oklahoma State University web page. I reference that web page to make and publish a study and facts page of my own.

According to OSU and it's research, "The most distinctive feature of the American Mulefoot hog is the solid hoof which resembles that of a mule. Pigs with solid hooves (also called syndactylism) have attracted the interest of many writers over the centuries, including Aristotle and Darwin. Yet of all the mulefooted hogs described, the American Mulefoot is the only documented population with a breed standard and a long history of agricultural use. This breed is unique to the United States and is critically rare. Recent events, however, have led to more optimism regarding its survival. The origin of the American Mulefoot breed is not clear, but it has a well-documented history over the last century. F.D. Coburn, in his classic 1916 book Swine in America, notes that the Mulefoot hog was found in Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana, across the southwest and in some parts of Mexico. (In southern Missouri and northern Arkansas, Mulefoots were sometimes called "Ozark pigs.") The National Mulefoot Hog Record Association was organized in Indianapolis, Indiana, in January 1908. Two additional registries were also founded. In 1910 there were 235 breeders registered in twenty-two states."

"Coburn describes Mulefoot hogs as mainly black, with occasional animals having white points; medium flop ears; and a soft hair coat. The hogs were of fairly gentle disposition, fattened quite easily, and weighed from 400-600 pounds at two years of age. They were considered the highest quality "ham hogs" and were fed to great weights before slaughter. For some years breeders claimed that Mulefoots were immune to hog cholera. That claim has been disproved, though the breed does seem to possess remarkable hardiness."

"Mulefoots were taken to Canada between 1900 and 1920 but no attempt was made to establish a herd book and pedigree records were not maintained according to J. W. MacEwan in The Breeds of Farm Livestock in Canada, 1941."

"Today, the Mulefoot is the rarest of American swine breeds. It has been a conservation priority for American Livestock Breeds Conservancy for over a decade. A very thick file of correspondence attests to continued attempts to locate and evaluate additional populations and establish new breeding groups."

The report went on to say that, "A remnant population of the American Mulefoot has been owned by R.M. Holliday of Louisiana, Missouri, for nearly forty years. He remembers from boyhood that his family and others raised these hogs by putting them on islands in the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers to forage during the summer and then rounding them up in the fall for slaughter. This practice was terminated by the Army Corps of Engineers in the 1950s."

"In 1964 Mr. Holliday gathered together stock from all the known breeders and established his herd. During 1976 he swapped animals with a breeder in North Dakota, which introduced some undesirable traits such as prick ears, wattles and split hooves. Nevertheless, Holliday's strong and consistent production selection has maintained a generally uniform and characteristic herd. After his experience with this "exotic" animal dealer he sold no more stock except those contracted for slaughter. During these years the Mulefoot registries folded and all known copies of the herd books were lost."

The report also states, "In the fall of 1993, Mark Fields in cooperation with ALBC, contacted Mr. Holliday in an attempt to purchase a few animals and begin a Mulefoot herd. After several lengthy phone conversations it was agreed that he could go to Holliday's farm to view the herds. Mr. Holliday agreed to sell a small breeding group. After spending time with Mr. Holliday and learning about the recent history of the breed, Mr. Fields decided to reactivate the Mulefoot hog registry. This has been a frustrating task since the registry information was destroyed after the death of the last registry secretary in the 1960s."

"Mr. Holliday made additional stock available and Fields has assisted the movement of a herd to Iowa, where Kent Whealy of Seed Savers Exchange coordinated their distribution to four breeders."

"The Mulefoot hog population is classified as Critical by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (fewer than 200 in annual registration). However its outlook is improving. It is now being raised by breeders across the state of Missouri and additional stock has recently been sent to Georgia. Anyone interested in raising this breed of swine should contact the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy or the National Mulefoot Hog Association."

National Mulefoot Hog Association
Kevin Powell
12942 - 338th Street
Strawberry Point, IA 52076
ph (319) 933-2252
email [email protected]


Reference:
Oklahoma State University website.
Correspondence from Mark A. Fields, Route 1 Box 126, Clark, MO 65243
Conservation Priority Livestock Breeds 1995, The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, Box 477,
Pittsboro, NC 27312. Phone: (919) 542-5704"



In conclusion, the Mulefooted Hog and it's origin is still a mystery. No doubt it will remain a rare find for quiet some time in the future.

Thanks for reading.

Dunno the rest of the genetics, but I see lots of feral hogs, fairly tame ones inside the city limits, a couple of sounders rest up in the brush within 50 yards of a busy bike path in the Missions park, you can walk right up on 'em. Sometimes they come up our back alley at night.

The most common colors here are black, and a sort of piebald tan and black. Might be sex-linked, I don't recall seeing a tan and black adult boar.

The REALLY huge boars have long straight backs, about like domestic pigs. Only a very few of them.

Their tracks are just regular pig tracks.

Birdwatcher

You would win your bet, even with SOME boars. Open country and REALLY good bay dogs are all that's required.

Ben Jordan of Smithville Ok. had BMC dogs as good as ever walked. We traded back and forth. He ran cattle on a few hundred acres of deeded land and a bunch of the Quachita Forest. There were no working pens in the Nat'l Forest so he relied on his dogs.

He come across 4 old boars at one of his water tanks while riding back home, and he sic'ed his dogs on 'em and they bayed 'em up. There was one that kept breaking bay, and Ben roped him.

After being drug aways on the gravel road, that old boar had a change of heart and fell in with the rest. When Ben got home- 3 or 4 miles as I recall - he put the hogs in a lot for the night.

There was a Pioneer Celebration taking place the next day at Smithville or a neighboring larger town, I forget which, but Smithville ain't very big so it might have been another town, and Ol' Ben just turned them hogs out and drove 'em right into town !

He showed me the newspaper clipping and pictures of him driving them down Main St.

V.K. Sowell of Edna Tx told me of driving hogs with his Blackmouth cowdogs, as well.

http://www.texasboars.com/articles/facts.html

THE FACTS ON WILD FERAL HOGS

I've been trapping, breeding, and raising WILD HOGS both free roam and enclosed now for years. Based on my experience, studies and what I have observed, ALONG with studies from Universities such as Texas A&M I have provided the following Facts and answers.

The first true Pigs were brought to the United States by Hernando de Sota to the Atlantic Coast of Florida in 1539.

The First "Pure Russian" wild boars were brought into the US by Austin Corbin. They were released into a 20,000 acre enclosure in Sullivan County New Hampshire in 1890.

SOME FAST FACTS AS OF 2006:
STATES WITH FERAL HOGS: 39, plus 4 Canadian provinces.
TEXAS COUNTIES with Feral Hogs, 225 out of 254 counties.
HOG POULATION IN TEXAS; 2,000,000 (MILLION)+!
NATIONAL POPULATION is estimated at around 4,000,000.
ESTIMATED ANNUAL AGG DAMAGE from feral swine $52 MILLION!
LANDOWNER ANNUAL EXPENSE to control feral swine $7 MILLION
NATURAL LIFE EXPECTANCY OF A FERAL SWINE IS 6 to 8 years.
AVERAGE SIZE of feral swine is 100 to 150 pounds, but depending on the region can obtain sizes in excess of 600 lbs.
REPRODUCTION OF FERAL SWINE: Once a sow reaches breeding age at 7 or 8 months of age they can be responsible for 1,000 plus feral swine in a 5 year period. The State of Texas had an estimated population of around 2 MILLION at last check.
( If 1/4 are breeding sows!? ) In my opinion the current contribution to the exploding feral swine population is HUMAN IGNORANCE, such as catch and release, or those who feel killing animals is cruel. Allowing them to populate unchecked would be a cruel blow to our native habitat and wildlife!

IN YEARS PAST the major contributor to the feral hog population was attributed to the now obsolete practice of "free roam farming." Hog Farmers would brand/mark their hogs and release them into the open woods to roam free breed and grow.
when the farmers were ready to gather the hogs they would round them up and herd them into catch pens with their Hog Dogs.
The hogs were separated by their brand/mark and or breed and claimed by the farmers.
As you can guess many were never recovered and they were left to roam free as feral hogs.
Currently, the spread of feral hogs are mainly due to the misguided practice of CATCH and RELEASE. Hogs get trapped in one area, then transported to another area and released. This is usually done for future hunting purposes.

The downfall of Free Roam Farming is due to 2 factors. The first was dwindling space due to development and crop farms. The second was the demand for "Hard Fat.
"Soft Fat" is no longer considered desirable food for the table. Feral Hogs are carriers of many diseases. Included are Swine Brucellosis, Pseudorabies, tuberculosis and Hog Cholera.

The average litter of a feral sow is 4-6. This depends greatly on the breed of the feral hog and the food availability. Feral Sow which have just escaped or feral sow that retain much of their domestic breeding will have larger litters.
Also wild sow perform baby sitting duties. In other words the litters from many sow can and will be watched over and suckled by one sow while the others are off feeding. (this practice accounts for the sometimes LARGE number of babies spotted with one sow)

Wild Hogs have a very highly developed sense of smell which will match or even rival that of other competing wild life.
Their sense of hearing is also highly developed.
Their eye sight is severely under estimated, according to Universities who have studied them. Others who have raised them tend to agree with this opinion also, as do I.
I, myself can contribute to this. At over 100 yards my hogs can distinguish not only a human figure, but have eyesight that is capable of distinguishing a "human friend" or "STRANGER" from facial characteristics and build.
They will come running upon my father's or my recognition, to be fed. They will leave running when a stranger approaches. This recognition process has been observed consistently at 100 + yards. They can easily see me coming at 250 + yards. They may not run, they may not pay attention, but don't think they can't see you. Hog are at a disadvantage when it comes to sight mainly because of their low profile. They can't raise their heads high like a deer or other wild animals to see over grass or vegetation.

According to many studies, hogs are very intelligent. Undoubtedly they are the most intelligent animal in the woods. Any hunter or trapper who hunts them specifically can easily make note of this fact.

Wild Hogs will eat both Plants and Animals. This classifies them as omnivores.

Texas and New Hampshire are the only 2 states where true Russian Boar may still exist on a rare basis. BUT, with hunters buying and releasing TRUE RUSSIAN BOARS into the wild this is ever changing.

Wild Boar are both good and safe to eat when prepared properly.

Wild Boar really do have a shield. This shield is considered scar tissue or a callus which becomes harder and thicker with age. The shield covers the hog, beginning from the neck to the last rib. This shield is generally about 1 inch thick, but can be more than 3 inches thick and is found mainly on the boar. It's purpose is to protect the boar during battles with each other.

The weight of fully matured feral hogs will vary from 200 pounds to over 700 pounds.
True Wild Boar or Russian Boar will weigh around 400 pounds when fully grown (4 - 5 years of age).
The weight of the feral hog is determined by the domestic breed line of the animal.
Characteristics of the True Wild Boar or Russian Boar:


Provided by the Interlake Wild Boar Co op ltd


The original range of wild boar was Eurasia and North Africa - from Ireland to Japan and southern Scandinavia to Egypt. Wild boar are the ancestors of the domestic pig, and the two species can be interbred. The terms standard and full-blood are applied to wild boar in Canada. Standards have some domestic pig in their background, while fullbloods are considered to be pure wild boar. Crosses of the two produce hybrid animals. Fullbloods can be more aggresive than hybrids or standard wild boar, particularly if they aren't raised in close contact with people. Physically, wild boar look very different from domestic pigs. They have smaller ears and much longer snouts; their tails are straight and tufted at the tip. Hair coloring is brown to black. Long bristles run from the head along the centre line of the back, and can be raised two to three inches from the body when wild boar are excited or agitated. With their hind legs shorter than front legs, wild boar have an "uphill" appearance. Mature wild boar measure up to 40 inches at the shoulder. Males can weigh up to 450 pounds and females up to 370 pounds. Wild boar are market-ready at 180 to 200 pounds. Genetics and nutrition play a significant role in the ability of individual wild boar to reach market weight between 14 and 18 months. Females can produce three litters per year under intense management and ideal conditions. However, two litters are more the norm. Gestation is 114 days. Litters average four to five young, although individual mature sows can produce as many as ten boarlets. Under adverse environmental conditions, the number of boarlets produced by a herd can average as few as one or two per sow. Young wild boar are born with Yellowish-brown coats with distinct dark stripes along the back providing camouflage coloring.
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Noble Foundation

The following information source came from the Noble Foundation.
History

Feral hogs (Sus scrofa), which are wild swine from domestic ancestry, belong to the family Suidae. Actually, there are three types of wild hogs found in the United States: feral hogs, Eurasian wild boar (Russian) and hybrids between these two types. The hybrid of course is a cross between the feral hog and the Russian wild boar.
In the United States (U.S.), California, Florida and Texas have the highest numbers of feral hogs. Some of the Hawaiian Islands have substantial populations as well, and Oklahoma's population is healthy and growing. Even though these states and many others have populations of feral hogs, they are not indigenous (native) to the United States.
A hog-like animal, the javelina or collared peccary (Tayassu tajacu), is native to the southwest U.S. However, the feral hog is a different species, genus and family from the javelina which belongs to the family Tayassuidae.
Native to the Southwest U.S., the javelina is often confused with the feral hog. Javelinas are hog-like in appearance, however, they are not closely related. Photo: Dale Rollins
Ancestors of our swine date back to the Miocene. During the period when the world was shifting and forming new continents, the swine family was excluded from the new world. It was probably not until the discovery of the new world by European man that swine found their way into what is now the U.S. Early explorers such as Hernando Cortes and Hernando de Soto are largely responsible for their introduction. The swine these explorers brought over were domesticated and it was not until the 1930's that the Russian wild boar was introduced.
Current Status

Today, there are areas in the U.S. where the pure Russian wild boar (native to European and Asian continents) can still be found due to importation for sport hunting. However, most feral hogs are from domesticated swine. Feral hogs are in fact wild but are not a different species than domestic hogs or Russian boars. Webster's dictionary defines feral as: having escaped from domestication and become wild. Hence, all feral hogs in the U.S. up until the 1930's were from domestic stock. In a few areas where the Russian boar was imported for sport hunting, escapes have occurred resulting in feral / Russian crossbreeding.
Oklahoma-Texas Feral Hog Distribution: Darker areas = Denser Population.


The feral hog has been very successful in expanding its range and increasing its numbers. Its success can be attributed to several factors: free ranging method of husbandry; its introduction and reintroduction by hunters; water development in arid areas; improved range condition through better livestock grazing practices; and its ability to reproduce quite rapidly. Feral hog populations have also benefited from increased disease control in the domestic livestock industry.
Biological Characteristics

Ongoing studies are being conducted to determine distinguishable characteristics between domestic, feral, Russian and feral/Russian crosses through DNA testing, skull measurements, external body measurements, coat coloration patterns, bristles and other criteria. Much has been learned, but definite determinants have not yet been developed. Therefore, it should be pointed out that the following descriptions are general and relative in nature.
Description

In general, a feral hog looks like its domestic counterpart. Coat coloration patterns can vary from solid black, brown, blond, white, or red to spotted (various combinations of black, white, red, and brown) or belted. A belted hog has a white band across the shoulder and forelimbs. Feral hog bristle length is generally longer than a domestic hog but shorter than the hybrid or pure Russian. A feral hog can reach three feet in height and over 300 pounds in weight; however, the average sow weighs approximately 110 pounds and the average boar weighs 130 pounds.
A boar has four continually growing tusks that can be extremely sharp, and may reach five inches before they are broken or worn from use. Tusks are used for defense and to establish dominance during breeding. A male feral hog also develops a thick, tough skin composed of cartilage and scar tissue on the shoulder area which is sometimes referred to as a shield. The shield develops continually as the hog ages and through fighting.
Tusks which are found on the lower jaw, or mandible, can be extremely dangerous when put to use by a mature boar. The upper tusks, or whitters, help keep the lower tusk extremely sharp.
The pure Russian boar is generally light brown or black with a cream or tan color on the tips of the bristles. Its underside is lighter in color and its legs, ears and tail are darker than the rest of the coat. Its bristles are the longest of the three types of wild hogs. Pure Russian boars have longer legs and snouts and their head to body ratio is much greater than a feral hog. They also tend to have shorter, straighter tails.
Depending on ancestry, the physical characteristics of wild swine can vary greatly. Size, shape and color can all fluctuate. And all types of wild swine can raise their hair on the back of their necks giving them the look of a razorback.
Feral/Russian crosses exhibit combinations of features from both the feral and the Russian hogs. Bristle length in the hybrid is longer than the feral but shorter than the Russian. Hybrids exhibit the smallest bristle shaft diameters. Striped patterns on the young are sometimes thought to be an indicator of pure Russian or feral/Russian crosses; however, this pattern has also been found in feral piglets and therefore is not a reliable method of identification.
Predators

Another possible ally we have to aid in the control of feral hogs is the coyote. Piglets and small hogs can provide an excellent dinner for a coyote. There are known instances of an increase in the coyote population as feral hog populations increase. However, the extent that the coyote can control a hog population remains to be documented. Owls and bobcats also have been reported as predators of piglets and small pigs. In other parts of the U.S., mountain lion and black bear are also known predators.
Feral hogs represent many unknowns to biologists, wildlife managers, landowners and hunters, and as one biologist so precisely put it, "feral hogs are an ecological black box." Feral hogs in some areas have been credited with the perceived decline of the quail population, yet there are other areas where quail numbers are high and feral hogs are everywhere. They also receive credit for having a significant impact on wild turkey nests, various plant species and entire ecological systems. However, the actual effect hogs have on our environment remains unknown. More research and practical knowledge are needed to give us a better understanding of the feral hog and its influence on game and non-game species as well as the environment and its ecosystems.
We do know feral hogs can harbor and transmit some diseases and parasites to livestock and humans. We know feral hogs can have a significant negative impact on some livestock operations through depredation and damage to facilities and fences. Farmers also share a significant portion of the damage caused by the rooting of fields and depredation of crops. Feral hogs provide excellent table fare, represent a challenging game species to pursue with weapon or dog, and compete with the white-tailed deer in some areas as the most popular animal to hunt. As mentioned, there are many pro's and con's regarding the status of feral hogs and there always will be as long as we have biologists, farmers, ranchers, hunters, and of course, the feral hog.
Disease & Depredation

The feral hog has received a lot of credit for various disease and depredation problems but is sometimes wrongly accused, due to the destructive nature of some of their other activities. Feral hogs, like all animals, are susceptible to many infectious and parasitic diseases but probably cause more problems through rooting, wallowing and depredation. However, if caution is not used when handling hogs or when feral hogs are around domestic livestock, disease can be a problem. Disease and depredation, which are already problems in some areas, will only increase as hog populations increase.
Disease & Parasites

There has been little documentation of many of the diseases of feral hogs and their spread to livestock and humans. However, there are two diseases associated with feral hogs that are documented fairly well - pseudorabies and swine brucellosis. Other diseases hogs may carry are tuberculosis, anthrax and tularemia.
Pseudorabies is a viral disease of the central nervous system that can affect domestic and feral hogs and fatally affect cattle, horses, goats, sheep, dogs and cats. Wild animals such as raccoons, skunks, opossums and small rodents can also be fatally infected. Symptoms of the virus in these animals are anorexia, excessive salivation, spasms, convulsions and intense itching followed by paralysis and then death. Pseudorabies is not related to the rabies virus and does not infect people. This disease is of special concern to domestic hog owners because it can weaken pigs and cause abortions and stillbirths, thus decreasing production and profits. Once infected, the hog is a lifetime carrier and will periodically shed the virus through the mouth and nose. Transmission of the disease can be through direct contact, contaminated feed and water, ingestion of infected tissues, or contaminated trailers.
Swine brucellosis can cause infertility in boars and abortions in sows. This disease can also cause a loss of production and profit in domestic swine operations. Swine brucellosis is transmitted through reproductive discharges such as semen and afterbirth and once infected a hog is a carrier for life. The only effective way to control this disease is to test and remove infected individuals, a task impossible to do in a wild population. Swine brucellosis is contagious to humans and symptoms may range from severe flu-like symptoms to arthritis or meningitis. There is no cure for this disease in animals while humans can be treated with antibiotics in an attempt to clear the infection.
The main reservoirs of tuberculosis infection are in man and cattle, however feral hogs have been found infected with (Mycobacterium bovis) the same strain of tuberculosis found in man and cattle. Although the M. bovis strain has been detected in feral hogs, they are not very susceptible. The infection is most often contracted by ingestion of infected materials. Lesions on the lymph nodes are good indicators of an infected hog. Fortunately, due to extensive control measures, this disease is not common. Feral hogs may also carry another strain of tuberculosis, M. avis, contracted by eating dead birds. This strain is not contagious to humans.
Anthrax is a serious soil-borne disease that is most commonly associated with neutral or alkaline soils that serve as reservoirs for the organism's spores. Recognized endemic areas include portions of Texas, Louisiana, California, Arkansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Dakota and small areas in other states. Even within these areas, anthrax occurs irregularly and primarily when the minimal daily temperature is above 60 degrees. Although uncommon, the feral hog may become infected when feeding. Humans can contract this disease from contaminated animals or soil. The disease in humans is often fatal if not promptly treated with antibiotics.
Tularemia is not commonly found in feral hogs but they can contract it through direct contact or ingestion of contaminated animal carcasses. Ticks are a good vector as well as a reservoir and the most common source of infection for man. Persons who dress, prepare or eat improperly cooked feral hogs or other wild game are also at increased risk.
Feral hogs harbor several parasites some of which might pose problems for man or other animals. Fleas, hog lice and ticks are some common external parasites that a hog may acquire. It is thought that feral hogs do not occupy an area long enough or in sufficient numbers to get infected with large numbers of internal parasites or facilitate transmission to humans. However, internal parasites can occur in feral hogs and may include roundworms, kidneyworms, lungworms, stomachworms, whipworms, liver flukes and trichinosis. Trichinosis infections in humans are established by consumption of undercooked, infected pork.
Ranchers, farmers and hunters need to be aware of these potential diseases and take every precaution to avoid infection. Livestock owners should be sure all of their animals are vaccinated, especially when there is a chance they may have contact with feral hogs. There are state and federal laws governing the transport and relocation of feral hogs. Blood tests are required by law before feral hogs can be relocated. Hunters, trappers, butchers and wildlife managers should always wear rubber gloves when handling or dressing feral hogs. Try to avoid contact with reproductive organs and blood, and wash thoroughly after contact. Hunters and chefs cooking feral hog meat should make sure it is thoroughly cooked.
Summary
Feral hogs represent many unknowns to biologists, wildlife managers, landowners and hunters, and as one biologist so precisely put it, "feral hogs are an ecological black box." Feral hogs in some areas have been credited with the perceived decline of the quail population, yet there are other areas where quail numbers are high and feral hogs are everywhere. They also receive credit for having a significant impact on wild turkey nests, various plant species and entire ecological systems. However, the actual effect hogs have on our environment remains unknown. More research and practical knowledge are needed to give us a better understanding of the feral hog and its influence on game and non-game species as well as the environment and its ecosystems.
We do know feral hogs can harbor and transmit some diseases and parasites to livestock and humans. We know feral hogs can have a significant negative impact on some livestock operations through depredation and damage to facilities and fences. Farmers also share a significant portion of the damage caused by the rooting of fields and depredation of crops. Feral hogs provide excellent table fare, represent a challenging game species to pursue with weapon or dog, and compete with the white-tailed deer in some areas as the most popular animal to hunt. As mentioned, there are many pro's and con's regarding the status of feral hogs and there always will be as long as we have biologists, farmers, ranchers, hunters, and of course, the feral hog.

only hybrids (crossbreed of Russian and feral hog)will have this tooth. I've killed two of these in duval county.

It was here, Hooper's Bald http://www.telliquah.com/hooper.htm

I've always had my doubts as to how much if any Russian boar genetics existed in the population in this area. I'd like to see some genetic testing.

Then TWRA for years sold permits for boar hunts in the Tellico Plains area but the hogs were few and far between. Good ol' boy poachers kept the population numbers down.

Can anyone think of a seriously endangered animal that's threatened to be wiped out by feral pigs? That might get the attention of the anti-hunters. The ESA would require that the government do something to reduce the pig numbers...

or so you would think. They did exactly the opposite with wolves. They introduced Gray wolves from Canada that promptly bred the native Idaho wolves out of existance.

Give all the sows Obama Morning After Pill.

.17 Hummer vs hogs.

i would think the bobwhite quail is under pressure from numerous points and directions. hogs are probably a significant contributing factor, at least in some locales.

feral housecats, fur-bearers, etc. and habitat shifts also play a role. but hogs are not innocent in this regard.

I grew up in Newton County, Texas, in the late 1960's. That county was one of the last that didn't have a "stock law". Anyone who wanted to could register an ear mark at the county seat and run hogs on any open land - timber company or private. Hogs aren't contained by barbed-wire fences, ya see. Within a few generations, even "domestic" hogs start to resemble a true "wild boar". As to those hogs not being wild - I will beg to differ, having climbed a lot of trees ahead of them in my youth. They were never "herded" by dogs, just as "wild" range cattle aren't "herded". The dogs bay them up, and can work them into a pen if one is handy. Mostly dogs were used just to find and bay them - watch the movie "old Yeller" for a good example. Then the "owners" would catch the pigs, mark them, and castrate the boar pigs. The same dogs were used on hogs and cattle, mostly curs, like Catahoulas or Black-mouthed curs. Traps were also used to catch the animals to "work" them, or gather them to take to market. A fellow in our area who made his living with "woods hogs" had quite a few scars on his legs from being in a pen with them. When the market for meat from "Woods Hogs" declined to the point they weren't economically feasible to mess with, most were just left in the woods. They were indeed free roaming livestock, but TAME they were not! Now meat destined for consumer use must be inspected before and after slaughter, so there is virtually no market for feral hog meat, except in the export market.

I see a lot of hogs on my property in coastal Texas, all were born in the wild, and behave as any other wild animal. A breeder who raised pure European wild boar looked at pictures of some of the boars that crossed my property and told me they appeared to have a lot of "Euro" blood. He suspected some pure Euro hogs had escaped from a breeding operation somewhere in the area. Euro traits include longer hair, longer snouts, big shoulders and slimmer hips in boars - and the prominent tusks. They may also have a taller "ridge" of hair along the back forward of the shoulders, this on sows as well as boars. A feral from domestic stock gone wild gets close, but not as "wild" looking as one with Euro blood. The pigs of Euro or true ferals will normally be a light brown color, with black stripes and spots that fade with age - no matter whether the hogs as an adult will be black or brown. I see usually one white and black spotted pig every year on my place, and some of those grow into large boars with slim hips, big shoulders, a ridge of hair on the back - and large tusks.

this one is a hybrid, it had the extra tooth that only hybrids have.

My own modest contribution; a local feral boar hog. A big [bleep] that pondered things for awhile before deciding to yield the right of way despite my shouting and waving. I went out and upgraded to a 10mm carry gun the very next day

Interesting mix of features, note the apparent lop ears....





Birdwatcher

I have noticed since the hogs have moved into my area that they coyote populations have shrunk. Any correlation or just happenstance.

I don't know. But I have noticed something strange re coyotes and hogs:

When hogs first appeared North of Paducah on my FIL's places and we shot them at night in cut hayfields like we had done South of town for years, we had to start dragging the dead ones to the turnrow. The coyotes wouldn't touch 'em.

After a few months, we could leave 'em lay where they died and the coyotes would have 'em gone by noon the next day.

Here in Young and Jack Counties, one hog may lay in place 'til he rots if he's in a place where the buzzards can't find him. The next hog may be gone in 24 hours.

I have no idea why that is.

hogs will eat their own dead.

Yeah they will. Sitting on a fat gut pile is a great way to double them up.