Talking About Bracken . . . Here's action in the Bracken!

Foolish actions know neither age nor geographical limits. This link to a boar hunting site in New Zealand shows a great example. It is just one in a series of at least three boar hunting clips. The video might tempt you to test your mettle. We do not recommend it.

Want to know why? Watch the last section of the video. The real actions happens in a fraction of a second. You can see similar lightning fast action in another video. This time the dog is on the receiving end.

Sent the kids and your better half out of the room? Here we go.

PJJ

Wild Boar As Caretakers Of The Forest - Battling Bracken

On November 26, 2009 the BBC News Service reported about an unusual experiment to use much maligned boar as caretakers of the forests. Because of the humid Scottish climate many forests have thick undergrowth of bracken. The fern is blocking out much light thus preventing other more useful plants and small trees from growing.

Trees for Life, a Scottish tree hugging group that apparently understands the interaction between fauna and flora better than most other green groups, just released 6 boar from a wildlife reserve into a 30 acre enclosure in an old birch forest. The boar were donated by a nearby Highland Wildlife Park. The purpose of the release is to study further the effects boar have on the spread of the bracken. Boar are known to dig up and eat the bracken rhizomes and fronds. Both are toxic to other animals. Bracken can grow five to six feet high, harbor ticks and other unpleasant wildlife (venomous snakes in German forests, for example) and shade out the light from the forest floor. That eliminates valuable much needed undergrowth in a healthy forest environment.

(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/8380381.stm)

Previously, the Guisachan Wild Boar Project close to the Glen Affric National Nature Reserve in Scotland, tested between 2004 and 2007 boar as bracken control. The experiment established that boar indeed reduce the spread of bracken considerably. Their activities also expose the soil in rooted areas allowing woodland plants and trees to germinate more easily.

Boar were an indigenous part of the Island's forest communities. They became extinct on the British Isles during the 13^th or 14^th century because of excessive hunting and poaching in all of the “King's Forests”.

This event can serve as a further illustration of the serious effect prolonged intensive hunting pressure can have on a species. Woolly Mammoth and the Dodo bird are other man made extinctions. And they did not even have helicopters in those days!

Alan Watson Featherstone, executive director of the charity, declared that boar will become major players in protecting native plant life in the forest and added:

"Wild boar are an integral part of the Caledonian Forest and their presence is crucial to the ecological health and balance of a natural woodland."

Ecologist Liz Balharry, who coordinated the Guisachan Wild Boar Project and is now an advisor to the new project by Tree of Life goes a step or two further:

"Wild boar are outstanding ecological engineers. Their return to Dundreggan will utilize the knowledge gained by my project and is exciting news for forest restoration in Scotland."

It is also exciting for the poachers. They already returned as well hunting and shooting the tagged boar in the research area. Even misguided competing researchers from Defra's Central Science Laboratory are known to catch sows and administer contraceptives.

The English research projects reflect in some aspects similar studies in the oak woodlands of California. They found almost identical effects on the native grasses in the oak lands. Wild pig rooting favored native perennials over imported annual grasses. The authors of the Californian study called wild pigs Grizzly Bears of our times because both species are rooting in similar fashion and with similar results.

Yet, to remain 'fair and balanced', I have to add that right in front of me are the results of another study that finds essentially the opposite to be true. Their researchers conclude that boar and wild pigs reduce germination of oak seeds to a measurable degree.

Be that as it may, I find it encouraging that certain English environmentalists and wildlife enthusiasts are willing to give boar a fair chance by looking at the environmental benefits that can be associated with boar.

You can listen to the BBC report right here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/8380381.stm.

PJJ

Birth Control For Bison - “Romance without Responsibilities”

Why not for Wild Pigs?

Feral pigs are the subjects of discrimination in California. Female feral bison on Catalina Island, California, are being put on birth control. The bulls are left alone to do what Bison bulls love to do: Fall in love. Now they can do so without the serious consequences of romance.

Female pigs do not enjoy such privileges. Why only bison and not female wild pigs? I have suggested birth control for Miss Piggy in a previous article on this blog. Boar would enjoy love without responsibilities as much as bison bulls. So, why are we discriminating?

The answer to this question is found in an article by Louis Sahagun in the Los Angeles Times. Sahagun answers the question indirectly in his article “Catalina bison going on birth control”. It appeared on November 20, 2009 in the Los Angeles Times.

The Catalina Island Conservancy, which owns 88% of the island, is rounding up the bison herd, separating females from the rest and vaccinating them with a contraceptive. The process needs to be repeated after one year. About 200 bison now live on Catalina Island. The contraceptive is effective in approximately 90 percent of bison cows.

An estimated 800,000 wild pigs live in California. They are faster, more agile, more intelligent than bison and not marooned on an island. They have plenty of space for running away. That makes herding wild pigs into corrals far more difficult, if not impossible. Vaccinating boar directly will most likely not work. But administering the vaccine in food should. Lace acorn with it and watch the wild pigs happily vaccinate themselves.

The contraceptive for bison may not work in wild pigs. But if we can develop one, we should also be able to create a vaccine specifically for wild pigs. Bison contraceptive vaccine is non-hormonal. The wildlife contraceptive porcine zona pellucida (PZP ) is developed from pig eggs. The vaccine stimulates the body of an injected animal to produce antibodies that distort the shape of the sperm receptors on the egg. Sperm no longer detect the receptors and thus do not attach themselves to the egg. Fertilization does not take place.

PZP was tested and studied on horses, feral burros, deer and possibly other large mammals as a multi-year vaccination and in animal feed. Why it has not been widely used to control the explosion of wild pig populations is unknown to me.

Be that as it may, for once I agree with the Nature Conservancy, wildlife conservationists and animal rights activists. It is far more humane to control burgeoning populations of big mammals with contraceptives than to engage in the wholesale, cruel slaughter of the animals with poison and from the air.

Tell that to the wild pigs of Catalina Island. They were not given the benefit of contraceptives, not even for test purposes.

They were trapped and killed, poisoned and mercilessly hunted from the air by the brave shooters in the sky, which I despise so much. The lucky ones were shipped out to ranches on the mainland – to be hunted there. Feral pigs are not a tourist attraction like the Catalina bison. Boar are not driving money into the coffers of tour operators like bison. Feral pigs just dig holes, mud holes. There is no money in ordinary mud! And they destroy cash crops and manicured front yards in suburbia.

Wild pigs are not cute and pink. They are ugly, dirty, mean and smelly. They deserve to be murdered from the sky!

The revenge of the boar? They keep on making more and more and more wild boar.

Giving the porkers food spiced with PZP could put a damper on their out of control population increases without depriving hunters of one of their favorite big game animals. But it would not take the fun out of the life of Miss Piggy.

The article in the Los Angeles Times quotes Carlos De La Rosa, chief conservation and education officer of the Catalina Conservancy:

"Bison will continue to be bison. . . . "Males will continue to compete for females, and females will continue to go into heat. The only difference is that we can control how many calves they have.
"For bison in love," he added with a laugh, "this means romance without responsibilities."

What's good for the bison, is good for the boar. Don't you think so?

The entire article is here.

PJJ

Hunting Boar And Wild Pigs

Officially Released and in the Wild.

The electronic version of the new Boar Book, Hunting Boar And Wild Pigs - The Definite Guide To More Successful Boar Hunting In California And Elsewhere, is now officially published and released. A version for eBook Readers will soon be available through major retail outlets.

Avoiding the conventional, static book format, the author again breaks ground by making his work the hub of a web of knowledge, tapping into his other hunting related writings, linking to this boar hunting blog, to wild pig hunting tutorials and many studies on hunting wild pigs. Embedded references to his works and links to significant hunting publications on the Internet compliment and complete the topic of hunting boar whenever possible.

This unique concept makes 'Hunting Boar And Wild Pigs' a truly living, interactive guide manual for big game hunters.

For more information and ordering details go to http://wildboarbook.com.

"Hunting Wild Pigs" Soon To Be Released

"Hunting Wild Pigs" Soon To Be Released

Advance Copies now available to recent buyers of the previous book.

“The Complete Guide To Hunting Boar and Wild Pigs in the US And Beyond” is on schedule for publication around mid-November 2009.

The successor to “Wild Boar In California- Where and How To Hunt” describes in great detail what every hunter ought to know about boar and wild pigs to hunt them more successfully. The emphasis of the new book is on boar and wild pigs, their anatomy, behavioral patterns, daily routines, habits, habitat requirements, hunting weapons and methods. Regardless of whether you go on guided hunts or prefer the thrill of pitting your hunting skills unguided against the survival strategies of a boar, the profound knowledge gained from this new book will make you a more successful hunter.

"Hunting Wild Pigs" is a groundbreaking new way to explore and to explain thoroughly the multifaceted topic of boar hunting by directly linking chapters and subjects of the book to relevant additional in depth information on the Internet. Unlike conventional books, this publication is easily updated and expanded anytime because data are created and stored electronically allowing embedded links that can be called up instantly. The work is therefore the hub of a compendium of combined knowledge reflecting other writings of the author and publications of others.

The series of tutorials "On Hunting Boar" is a substantial part of the overall project as is the blog “Wild Boar Hunting in California and Worldwide.

There are no repeated fleeting references to 'sus scrofa', their omnivorous nature nor anecdotal stories about successful wild pig hunts with a guide. Yet we still have the obligatory lists of private ranches, outfitters, hunting ranches and references to hunting on public land. Much of that material is however directly linked to the book in order to keep the information up to date.

JL

Feel The Need For Meat? - Wild Boar Meat That Is?

Last night and out of nowhere it suddenly struck me: Why not buy wild boar meat from a market or a meat processor! Clean, fully wrapped, ready to prepare at prices that are most likely lower than what you would have to pay per pound if you went out to harvest your own boar.

Look at it this way: First you spend a lot of time arranging for a guided wild pig hunt. Then you pay anywhere from at least $ 500.00 to 1,000.00 or more per boar harvested, plus a 'gratuity' to the guide for field dressing, a fee for cool storage, a processing fee to a butcher, packing material and more for electricity to keep your freezer or refrigerator going.

Moreover, you need fuel to get to your destination, pay for lodging and food. Is that all? No, before you can bag your game you have to brave high temperature or freezing cold, run up and down steep hills, cope with insects and crawly things that can bite and harm you, not to speak of poisonous plant life that can make you miserable for days on end. And there is never a guarantee that you will bag your wild pig!

If you are lucky you get your wild pig. Fortunately, it is a good boar, not too small and not too big and a sow but not a boar. Because getting one of those, especially when he is a big trophy boar (which the guide would love you to shoot because of the trophy fee), gives you a lot of almost worthless meat. Large old wild boar have that infamous gamy taste that makes eating their meat undesirable. Even processing the meat into Cajun sausages can not fully cover up the unpleasant taste.

Let us assume you harvested a 130 pound young sow. Good meat, good eating. By the time it is field dressed and processed you have, say, about 100 pounds of usable meat left. You placed your shot very carefully to the head to avoid excessive meat spoilage. Most of you, I presume, would play it safe and aim at the vitals. If you miss and have to shoot a second time or hit a major bone, you damage a lot of otherwise prime meat.

You paid 600 dollars for the guided hunt, another $ 100.00 for helpers, cold storage, etc, and least $ 100.00 to the butcher for meat processing. Add to it at least $ 100.00 for fuel (forget about wear and tear on your car), some food and drink.

That little sow of yours now cost you 900 dollars, give or take a few depending on your choices. And we have not added anything for your time or business lost while your were traipsing around in the wilderness. Average price per pound: $ 9.00. And this is most likely on the low side. Especially when you do not get a boar the first time out.

Instead of all this trouble and expense, why not sit at home watching some game from the comfort of your easy chair, then proceed to your computer and to YouTube for some wild pig hunting videos. There are plenty of them to watch. Find an exciting one and as the boar drops shout 'bang, bang'. (By the way, did you know that there are some video games that let you shoot real live boar? I do not know how it works, only that the animal rights people want to outlaw them. Our governor is poised to sign a bill to that effect).

No more dirty and unpleasant hard work of field dressing and skinning your wild pig. Drive to the nearest specialty market and buy yourself some fresh boar meat at a reasonable price. Take it home, cook it and enjoy some great tasting wild pig tenderloin for just over $ 10.00 a pound or a wild boar boneless shoulder roast for about the same price. You can also get the boneless shoulder at $ 6.50 per pound depending on where you buy. While you serve a mouthwatering BBQ rack of wild pig ribs to your friends you describe in great detail your boar hunting adventure and how you bravely faced the raging boar. Don't worry about details, they don't really know them either but you have seen the video of a real hunt on YouTube.

Google for wild boar meat and you will find numerous Internet sellers of wild pig meat. Of course, ordering from one of them carries shipping costs. Therefore, the actual price per pound is higher.

Fortunately, there are plenty of local companies in large urban areas that offer wild boar meat.

For example, in the Los Angeles area you can get your wild pig meat from at least three large meat processors/retailers.

Harvey Guss's Meat Co

949 S Ogden Dr

Los Angeles, CA 90036

(323) 937-4622

Marconda's Meat

6333 West Third St

Los Angeles, California 90036

323 938 5131 also at the Farmers Market, Stall 512, in Los Angeles.

Harmony Farms

2824 Foothill Blvd,

La Crescenta, CA 91214

(818) 248-3068

These are the three heavy weights. There are numerous other outfits that sell wild pig meat or at least can order it for you. Here are a few more:

99 Ranch Market

Van Nuys Store
6450 N. Sepulveda Blvd. Van Nuys,CA 91411
818-988-7899

Alexander's Prime Meats
(Howie's Ranch Market)
6580 N. San Gabriel Blvd
San Gabriel
(626) 286-8871

Huntington Meats & Sausage
(Los Angeles Farmers Market)
6333 W. 3rd St.
Los Angeles
(323) 938-5383.

Do not overlook smaller markets in predominantly Vietnamese areas (like “Little Saigon” in Los Angeles). They carry wild pig and other exotic meats. (Maybe some of it even comes from the Big Horn Ranch?)

You can find high-end wild pig meat in several places on the net, notably at

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/565417,

http://www.exoticmeatsandmore.com/wildboar.aspx

http://www.marxfoods.com/wild-boar.

Though their prices are only slightly higher than those of local stores, they only ship in larger quantities, which together with shipping costs, adds considerably to the overall price per pound.

http://brentwoodtradinggroup.com/wibomeandwib.html is the exception. At least for the Los Angeles market.

Finally, here is another quite interesting twist to the story about wild pig meat markets. A small family owned meat processing place operates in Littlerock, CA. They specialize in sausages made from exotic meats. Many hunters take their game there to have it processed into sausages. The place is well known for its quality and savory unusual, if not exotic, sausages. Unfortunately, last I heard was that the place is for sale. It might not even be there any longer.

Valley Hungarian Sausage and Meat Co.

8809 Pearblossom Hwy. Littlerock, CA 93543

(661) 944-3351 10 a.m.- 5 p.m., 7 days a week

Their website is still up at http://www.valleyhungarian.nv.switchboard.com/

Isn't it amazing how much business a few wild pigs running around and digging up people's yards are creating in their wake? Just think of all the profitable wild pig farms needed to supply the meat. Because that is most likely where the boar meat comes from. Not from ruthless murderers of poor Miss Piggy. Well, maybe with the exception of boar 'harvested' in Texas as part of the wild hog eradication programs in effect there.

Savor delicious, healthy boar meat for less, enjoy bragging rights of a successful 'hunter' and save your energy to defend against accusations of cheating.

PJJ