CA wild hog population growth...boon or bane?

Home > CA wild hog population growth…boon or bane?

I’ve always been a little bit ambivalent about the spread of wild hogs, both across the state and across the country. On the one hand, they provide an awesome hunting opportunity and excellent table fare. On the other hand, they’re an invasive, non-native species that really doesn’t have an appropriate niche in the ecosystem. It would probably be best for our native wildlife and the habitat if they were totally eradicated. But that doesn’t look like it’s gonna happen any time soon.

I just read this article in Western Farm Press regarding the population of wild pigs in CA. According to the researcher quoted here, the number of hogs running across the landscape here may very well be much higher than anticipated.

Add to that the relatively recent article in USA Today (of all places) that stated that wild hogs have now appeared in almost every state in the US. The other day I posted about wild hogs in Nebraska. Today I saw this article about wild hogs in Michigan!

What’s next? Alaska?

Is this a good thing or a bad?

Wild hogs in Nebraska test positive for pseudo-rabies

Othmar Vohringer

Posted February 19, 2007 at 9:20 PM

I am sure Alaska would be too cold for the hogs. Here in Canada we have no wild – feral – hogs other than here and there very small populations. This makes me think that either south of the Canadian border is a better climate for hogs.

Then there are a great number of Hunting preserves in America that keep wild hogs and ever so often some escape. I also know of a few hunting clubs that regularly release hogs on their leased land. Some always will escape off the leased land. Add to this the fact that wild hogs have no natural enemy to speak of – even wolfs know better than to get involved with hogs – and the large litters pigs raise and you might get an answer to the rapid hog population growth all over America. Compared to deer and other game animals the hog is not a very appreciated game species of the hunters. Perhaps if more hunters would embrace hog hunting we could control the population sufficiently.

-Othmar Vohringer-

Phillip Loughlin

Posted February 20, 2007 at 5:54 AM

I would initially tend to agree with you about Alaska, and probably most of Canada as well. At the same time, the real wild boar that have been released on this continent originally hail from some pretty cold climate. Germany and Russia both have significant populations, and winters that rival those of southern Alaska and much of lower Canada. I’d keep an eye peeled as these animals start moving across your borders. I’m curious to see where the real geographic boundary lies.

An Internet friend and professional hunter, JJ Hackiewicz does pretty well on the wild pigs in an area near Vancouver. These are likely remnants of an escaped herd from a hunting preserve, but they are thriving and growing. Some of the photos he’s sent me show thigh-deep snow, and some BIG hogs. I’ll have to join him one day.

The release of hogs onto uncontrolled private land, and their subsequent spread onto the surrounding properties is probably one of the biggest causes of the boom in population. Several states are moving to regulate (ban) this activity, but it looks like most of them have moved too slowly.

It does look like more and more hunters are getting involved in hog hunting. Wild hogs are challenging deer as the top-rated big game animal in California. You’re seeing more and more hog hunts on the hunting networks as well. They’re plentiful, relatively easy to hunt (no specialized equipment required), and exciting…tailor-made for video and television.

I doubt, though, that sport hunting is going to be sufficient to stop the spread of wild hogs. I’m afraid more drastic measures are going to be required…and implemented.

Rex

Posted February 20, 2007 at 8:30 PM

hogs seem to have the ability to adapt to every environment they face. I thunk they just might make it in Alaska, even if they had to dig holes to survive during the coldest times.

at leastI thunk so!

bfnc2003

Posted February 23, 2007 at 8:54 AM

Hogs can and will survive any climate. Im pretty sure the harsh winters probably take out a higher number of piglets versus warmer climates in turn causing the population expansion to be slower than other parts of the world. They are moving into parts of NC that never had a problem before, mostly from hunters who release them into an area not really knowing the damage that follows by doing so. Get a truck load of them dumped off in Alaska and I’d be willing to bet they would thrive if given time to get established.

Pat Fullerton

Posted March 22, 2009 at 12:07 AM

Russian Boars are the primary food source for Siberian Tigers. They thrive in bitter cold, can forage anywhere and outlast just about any circumstances.

Like the geniuses that killed the wild cougar in Chicago and theorized it traveled from South Dakato, because there are no cougars in Illinois (good grief) the experts will tell you anything. These hybrid wild pigs will expand, uncontrolled, unless hunters take them out.
Or college professors tranquilize them with graduate students fromt taxpayer helicopters, becaue God forbid we would not want a hunter to kill an animal.

Cougars and wild pigs have been in the Shawnee National forest in Illinois for example, in easy view since at least 1983. Cougars have been in western Missouri since at least 1987, per my own eyes in both cases.

The experts will tell you anything. I was told for years there were no venomous snakes north of the mason dixon line.
What about the Missagua rattler ( Ontario to Boston) the Timber Rattler ( New York and Pennsylvania), the copperhead ( every freakin where).

Ignore the experts and trust your local hunting and fishing friends. The idiots in Big Sur cannot figure out why black bear are in abundance. How about the 160,000 elephant seals that now frequent the beaches. How long till brown bear show up? They may be there already.

Local hunting and fishing knowledge is the key. Keep the college people out of it.

CA wild hog population growth…boon or bane?

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