I’ve read and shared an awful lot of stories from around the world regarding the environmental destruction caused by the wild boar and feral hogs. Still though, if you read the reports carefully, folks seem to be most concerned about the possibility of damage and destruction… while there’s often little evidence of the actual incidence. (Yes, the damage to actriculture is very real, but that’s a different story.) Theoretically, of course, some of these fears are feasible, but you have to wonder just how bad these animals are on habitat.
With that in mind, it was refreshing to see this very different story about wild boar in the BBC news.
Rather than being another tale about eradication or displacement, this one is about wild boar being reintroduced into the Caledonian forest in Glen Moriston, Inverness-shire. The hope is that the hogs will control the growth of bracken, which tends to grow quickly in the understory and choke out other plants.
I have to note that the wild boar is native to the area, so the introduction isn’t quite the same as turning hogs loose here in the U.S. It’s likely that the extinction of the wild boar in the area had a lot to do with the overgrowth of bracken, so this is simply the repair of some damages done by man in the first place.
But it does illustrate the possibility that wild hogs may play positive roles in the habitat, and that their appearance in certain areas may not be the ecological kiss of death that some folks would have us believe. As I’ve said before, I think we need a lot more objective research into the impact that wild hogs have. In some cases, a solid management plan may actually be much better for the habitat than continued eradication efforts.
It definitely bears consideration.
Beastslayer
Interesting point Phillip. I’ve always told everyone, “feral pigs will be the death of our native species!” Granted I’ve only got a few personal observations and have no real ‘data’ or idea what their affect on the environment has been. Seeing what a feral pig can do to the under story in an old growth cypress bottom, long leaf pine savanna, or on top of an oak ridge is mind blowing. Does this damage equate to less than optimal habitat for native species? Or does it promote 1st succession growth that our whitetail deer, turkey, quail, rabbit, and other ‘game’ species thrive in? Don’t forget the migrant non-game species that make our forays into the woods worth the trip during seasonal changes.