Feral Hogs
Feral hogs are a big problem for many people in my area. They do quite a bit of damage out at my farm, as well as other farms, each and every year. They get to be a fairly decent size for feral hogs and are usually in the 250 to 300 pound range. While not exactly what you may call a "hogzilla", when you get a bunch of these critters together they can do a lot of damage in a hurry.
Despite what many claim, feral hogs don't get much bigger than the ones shown above.
Post edited to include informational link:
They're eatin' good in my neighborhood!
Got hogs?
Staying above the water line!
Riverwalker
Posts
10 comments:
Those are monsters for sure. Feral hogs range is growing larger as I type and hell raisers they are.
Whoa!!
Looks like a whole bunch of bacon, hams and sausage to me!!
Yum
Bob
III
If only one crossed my sights my last camping trip. I will bag me some soon!
I live in the southeast and we don't have this problem a lot in my area.
Are they good eating?
...Wooohooo...fire up the cookin'drums...we'll need more tho,it'll take a year to cook'em in just our two...lol
Being from Iowa, I’m unfamiliar with feral hogs. I realize they exist, or course, but never bothered to look into where they come from. Are they “naturally” wild animals? The name suggests, to me, that they were somehow captive hogs that got loose and reproduced; is that on the right track? And what do these things taste like? Is it at all like a domestic hog, or is the comparison more like venison is to beef?
“Domestic pigs were introduced from Europe to the Americas by Spanish explorers. Over time, some pigs escaped or were intentionally released into the wild. Subsequently, free-ranging, feral populations established themselves on American soil.
In 1893, 50 feral pigs from Germany's Black Forest were released on a hunting preserve in New Hampshire's Blue Mountains. Later, in 1910 and 1912, Russian wild boars were released on a North Carolina preserve near the Tennessee border. Russian wild boars were released again in 1925 near Monterey, California and a few years later on Santa Cruz Island. Some of these transplants escaped from the hunting preserves. Many of their offspring bred with feral descendants of domestic pigs.
Today, feral pigs and hybrids of the Russian wild boars are found in 23 states with the possibility of yet-undiscovered populations in several more states. The largest populations are in the coastal states surrounding the Gulf of Mexico and California (not surprising, since Spanish explorers settled these territories). Feral pigs are found chiefly in western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and West Virginia and, in California, on Santa Cruz Island and Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties. Small numbers of pigs are found in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Vermont, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina and Texas.
In locations where feral pigs have more recently been discovered it is likely that these "run-wild" individuals are the result of unintentional escapes from domestic swine facilities, escapes or releases from game farms, or illegal stocking. Biologists estimate the nationwide population of feral pigs to be around four million animals.”
Source:
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/PUBL/wlnotebook/Pig.htm
RW
The link has a lot more info on feral hogs.
Feral hogs are edible and similar to the beef vs. venison.
They'll also probably get to Iowa soon enough.
RW
Hogs? Those look more like Russian boars to me,or some sort of cross breed.
Come across some in Alabama at my Uncles farm in Northern Alabam. Damn things are mean as all get.
To: Conservative Scalawag
They are hybrids. They can also be quite aggressive.
Thanks.
RW
Post a Comment