In January it was reported that hogs were on the outskirts of Charlotte in Cowans Ford Wildlife Refuge believed to be from an illegal release. Authorities there are now reporting that all but one boar have been captured.
Based on images from motion-detecting cameras, biologists first believed one sow with piglets, possibly a second sow and a boar were in the lake area.
Late last month, they trapped a sow – weighing in at a hefty 220 pounds – with eight offspring. The animals were tranquilized and euthanized by injection.
“She was the one we worried about,” said Chris Matthews, the park department’s natural resources manager. Female hogs can start reproducing at 7 months old, giving birth to up to 12 piglets once or twice a year.
Biologists continue to set traps for the lone boar, a little smaller than the sow, that they believe is still in the area. He’s the only hog that cameras are still photographing.
Eliminating them now before they get a foothold is the way to control them, once established hogs are a destructive creature that is nearly impossible to get rid of.
