Feral hogs are an invasive specie that once established in an area they are nearly impossible to eradicate. Most times we have to learn to adjust to having them around and the destruction and the problems they bring. The south east part of North Carolina it appears to be have a growing hog problem.

Tom Padgett, a N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission biologist, said they started popping up in force in North Carolina, including in Brunswick and Pender counties, about seven to 10 years ago.

Most, Norville said, followed food-plentiful low-lying areas, creeks and rivers up from South Carolina where they’ve lived for centuries. Others were brought here on purpose for hunters’ enjoyment, even though it is illegal to transport them across state lines. Still others were domestic pigs that escaped from pens or hog houses and went feral.

If let out into the woods, the offspring of a domestic pig – the cute pink ones – will transform into feral hogs in just two or three generations, Norville said.

Their snouts will elongate. They’ll grow tusks several inches long and thick, wiry hair. Their rear quarters will become skinnier and their chests deeper. A thick shield of cartilage will develop in the chest to protect vital organs from fights with other boars. This shield is so thick, hunters must ensure they choose bullet calibers powerful enough to penetrate it.

It’s hard to put a number on their population, Norville said. But whatever it is, it will inevitably increase over time.

He said a sow can begin breeding at only six months of age. She can have a litter of four to 12 piglets about every three or four months during any time of the year. These piglets have a low mortality rate because the mother is extremely protective.

Then six months later, those female piglets can breed, and so on.

“We’re talking exponential growth here,” Norville said. “Normal hunting operations don’t tend to control them.”

Grown feral pigs in Southeastern North Carolina average about 150 pounds, Padgett said. But hunters’ motion cameras have taken photos of pigs in the 300 to 400 pound range, he said.

There are no natural predators. Norville encourages anyone who finds a wild pig on their property to go ahead and kill it.

He’s had reports of wild pig sightings on farms and in subdivisions.

Star News

The Star News had a pretty long article that is worth checking out. While feral hogs are expanding the demand to hunt them seems to out strip the opportunities to hunt. Access to areas where they are concentrated are often leased up, unavailable, or pricey to hunt. Probably one of the most common questions I get ask is “where can I hunt hogs?” If everything I’ve read and been told turns out to be true about the hog we’ll all have plenty of hunting opportunities because of their rapid growth.

I have had some feral hog to eat and I can attest that it is some good stuff.

Harvey Bell, a Brunswick County farmer with a wild pig problem, said he and his friends find their meat quite tasty. He roasts them in a barrel cooker.

“I couldn’t tell much difference in them,” Bell said. “We skin them instead of scald them, and cook them like you do a commercial hog. It’s just easier to skin them” because their hair is so thick, he said.

In addition to using feral hogs in traditional eastern North Carolina barbecue, some locals are turning the animals into fine cuisine.

Star News had a companion article about eating feral hog. In a day and age when newspapers are shying away from hunting articles it’s good to see Star News and a few others that still cover our traditions.

The uncle that accidentally fatally shot his nephew while dove hunting near Loisburg NC earlier this month has been charged. On September 6th Jared Wynne died instantly from a shotgun blast at pointblank range. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission that has been investigating this incident report that the uncle Timothy J. Wynne has been charged as a felon in possession of a firearm.

A spokesperson with the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission says Timothy Wynne was on a hunting trip with his nephew earlier this month near Rocky Ford Road in Louisburg.

Authorities say Wynne swung his gun to shoot a dove and accidentally shot his nephew in the head. The 18-year-old died instantly.

News 14

This case is not expected to go to trial till January 2011.

Developing

Chances are pretty good that someone thought they were doing a good thing by adding flat heads to a number of bodies of water across the state but in fact they are an invasive specie.

JORDAN LAKE — It’s too late to stop flathead catfish from eventually dominating the food chain of this Triangle lake.

But state fish biologists are trying to learn all they can about the flatheads swimming around Jordan Lake before the aggressive cats take over.

It’s anybody’s guess about how long the fish, which are not native to river systems on this side of the Appalachian Mountains, have been in the lake, but the earliest official record of a flathead in Jordan is 2004. On Internet message boards, there are claims of catches from the late 1990s.

Our native fish are going to suffer because the flat heads are going to take over. Anglers can help by keeping the flat heads they catch.

Just as concerning to Kwak is that few of these fish are taken home for the table in this part of the country. In their native Midwest, flathead fishermen think nothing of taking one home, but here, catfish anglers seem to be practicing catch-and-release.

“That allows them to build up to a high number,” he said. “If we harvested flathead catfish at the same rate they do in the Midwest, our native fish would be at much higher levels. Our native fish would feel some relief.”

So it sounds like as with other invasive species don’t practice catch and release because it just magnify the situation.

Check out the N&O story

Unseasonably dry conditions for the month of September across North Carolina has lead to high fire danger in most parts of the state. WRAL reports that this weekend we had over 80 brush fires across the state.

Sunday’s rain came as a particular relief to firefighters who, in 48 hours on Friday and Saturday, battled about 80 brush fires across the state.

High temperatures and dry conditions help the fires start and spread.

“It’s been getting more and more busy,” said Brian Haines, a spokesman for the North Carolina Division of Forest Resources.

This coming week looks to have much cooler temperatures and rain just about every day. So what looked to be one of the driest September’s on record may turn out to be one of the wettest if the meteorologists are accurate in their predictions.

I’ve been having computer problems so the updates have been a bit behind but hopefully things are getting back to normal. While Carbonite is not a sponsor I’ll tell you they are well worth the money.

Mt Olivet Baptist Church had their third annual Sportsman Rally earlier this month and I had to check this out. I’ve been to a number of Sportsman Wild Game Dinners over the years but what I experienced this weekend blew all of them out of the water.

Most of the time these events attract mostly men and boys with the opportunity to try some wild game but this event attracted the entire community. Entire families were there this was the happening event for this rural community. As it got close to the time for them to begin serving dinner I was amazed at the size of the crowd and I’ll admit I wondered if they could possible have enough to feed everyone. The line snaked around the large tent out into the parking lot and all the way to the other side of the church. I guessed it to be close to 1000 people.

The menu consisted of a wide selection of wild game; Alligator, bison, wild boar, deer, all kinds of fish, rattlesnake, and a number of other things I’m surely forgetting it was truly amazing at what there was to choose from. It took a while but everyone got through the line and there was still food left.
A gospel quartet “Unashamed” performed and they really got the crowd into it. I’d never heard them before but they were really good. After that my good friend Mike Noles from Conman’s Guide Service brought the message about “Thirsting for the Lord”… “Like the deer pants for the water so does my soul pant for you…” I’ve known Mike for a number of years and have heard him share the Lord with individuals it was great to see him talking before such a large crowd. There were a number of folks that responded to the message and got themselves right with God.

After the service they drew names from all those who registered earlier in the evening when they showed up at the event for the free raffle. They gave away fishing equipment, hunting equipment including some guns. At a time when folks are really struggling an event like this is amazing. There was absolutely no cost for any of it the church and those in organizing it covered it all. There was a bucket for donations but zero pressure to give. This was truly an outreach ministry by the church to the surrounding community.

A tip of the hat to all those involved in putting this event together it was truly a remarkable evening. If there is anyone thinking about doing something like this with their church it is worth it to talk to the folks at Mt Olivet Church in Franklinton NC to get some tips on how to put on event like this.

If you’re like me every season there is a week or two where you can only get away from the office and to the woods for a single day. So you watch the weather forecast and pick which day you think we’ll be the best. Now we have an additional aid that includes moon phases as well as a number of weather factors that impact wildlife movement to help us make that decision.

Outdoor Life has added this feature to their website and it is customizable to your hunting location by the zip code. They say they have 10 years of data to back up their forecast predictions. Hard to say how accurate it will be but it seems a bit more objective then my subjective method of watching the week forecast and going with my gut.

It will be interesting over the coming months to see how this tool lines up with actual observations in the field.

A deputy in Florida responded to a injured deer call and had the task of putting the wounded animal out of its misery.

An Alachua County sheriff’s deputy who wanted to put a deer that had been hit by a car out of its misery Wednesday morning fired 17 shots into its stomach before the animal finally died, the Sheriff’s Office reported.

As a result of the incident, patrol staff now will receive training on how to quickly kill an animal that is critically injured, Lt. Steve Maynard said.

“The deputy didn’t know where to shoot it. He calls the sergeant, and the sergeant says to shoot it right behind the shoulder, which is the location of the heart,” Maynard said. Instead, the deputy shot the deer in the stomach.

The deer eventually died, Maynard said, adding that the deputy was “horrified” by the incident.

The Gainesville Sun

While the thought of that seems to be very unbelievable I guess for some it is less then routine situation. 17 shots in the stomach even after calling and being told where to shoot it makes me wonder. This story has certainly been making the rounds on the net and been a big topic of conversation. An alert reader has sent me alleged video from this incident and while I can’t fully verify its authenticity it seems to go along with much of the story.

On a more serious note I hope they do get better training because they really need to know how to safely put down wounded animals.

A hunter was mauled by a bear on the opening day of the bear hunting season with hounds in Township 5 Range 7 of Northern Maine. Ryan Shepard of Shin Pond Maine was hunting with 3 friends when their dogs bayed the 300+ lb bear. The bear was able to break past the dogs charging Shepard he was able to get off a fatal shot on the bear but was mauled before the bear succumbed to the fatal shot.

Maine Game Warden Kevin Pelkey told the BDN

The primary investigator of the incident, Pelkey said he couldn’t really determine whether Shepard had done anything that might have spurred the attack. Shepard is an experienced hunter, Pelkey said.
“While this is a rare occurrence, hunters are reminded that wild animals are always unpredictable,” Pelkey said in a statement.

Would not a pack of hounds be enough provocation for any bear to spur an attack? I don’t know when I read this story this morning it struck me as a funny statement by a game warden.

We are glad to hear that Mr Shepards injuries were not life threatening and sounds like he’ll make a full recovery. He certainly will have a story to tell around the campfire for sure.

Carolina Beach is use to having tourists but the last few days they have an usual one …a black bear. While black bears on the mainland may be a bit more common it is highly unusual to have one out on the island.

a bear recently visited the island and was spotted in a neighborhood one block off Dow Road.
Town Clerk Lynn Prusa lives near South Eighth Street and Atlanta Avenue and spoke with a neighbor last weekend who saw the bear.
The lifelong Carolina Beach resident was surprised, to say the least.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever heard of a bear on the island,” Prusa said.
Hundreds of years ago, bears probably freely ranged over the areas that are now Carolina Beach and Kure Beach, said David Webster, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at University of North Carolina Wilmington.
Webster, who is also an endangered species biologist who works with sea turtles and mammals, said he isn’t aware of other black bear sightings on the island.

Star News

While many people may not realize it but Coastal North Carolina has an abundant bear population but they are more concentrated in the counties north of New Hanover beginning around Jones and going north. Black bears continue to expand across the state and there is no reason to believe many areas that have not been traditional bear habitat may not see bears moving in.

NCWRC Bear Page
NC Wildlife will not move bears so people need to adjust their habits so as not to encourage bear human interactions. There is a saying “ A fed bear is a dead bear” and that is really the only option there is when a bear learns to associate humans with food.

While there maybe some small pockets of suitable habitat for a black bear on the island I suspect it will either move on or it will begin having interactions with humans that will lead to its demise. Lets hope it swims back to the mainland and finds a nice swamp to hang out in.