Hunting Boar And Wild Pigs: Did You Know . . .

That male boar attack head down? The boar will charge head down, then strike with his tusks sideways in an upward motion. After the vicious, brief attack and a hit boar usually stop the attack and leave the victim alone. Unless of course they are further provoked.

Because of the slashing attacks against human legs, small agile boar are in many countries called "pants mender".

Sows, on the other hand, attack mouth wide open, much like a crocodile. They bite with considerable force. If the victim falls or is prone for any other reason, they will not stop the attack but instead bite repeatedly – and sometimes even devour the victim.

PJJ

Wild Pigs Running Wild In Great Smoky Mountains Park.

Boar and wild pigs are taking over the park bringing with them pseudo rabies, swine brucellosis, hepatitis and other unsavory diseases that could threaten the domestic swine industry. They also eat salamanders, native plants, mess up the soil and, oooooooohhhhhhhhhh, defecate into little streams and creeks, say Park biologists according to an article published recently by Morgan Simmons in the Knox News.Sentinel and knoxnews.com.

Boar made their first appearance in the Great Smokey Mountains Park in the 1940s after they escaped from a game reserve. The original boar intermingled with feral pigs so that boar in the Park today are essentially hybrid wild pigs. They are doing so well in the park that in 2009 a special boar control team removed 620 wild pigs from the park by trapping and hunting. Only twice in the past were more boar eliminated from the park.

Wild pig populations in the Park spiked in 2009 because of excellent mast crops. When mast is plentiful, sows produce larger litters and have more than one per year.

Hunters are not allowed to hunt in the Park, of course, except at The Big South Fork and the Catoosa Wildlife Management Area. However, hunting wild pigs at South Fork is allowed only during the deer season while at the Wildlife Management Area boar can be hunted on private land during deer season and during special hunts. Thus, in 2009 a total of 77 wild pigs were harvested in that area.

This article demonstrates again the difficulties authorities have controlling wild pig populations in and around national and state parks because of self-imposed limitations. Hunting in the Smokey Mountains Park is not allowed; that gives the boar a safe haven and retreat to reproduce unchecked. Where hunting is allowed, it is confined to private land and special hunts. And the paid professional hunters and trappers are not going to cut it either. Guys, those tactics just won't do.

It takes some backbone to see that only sustained hunting of the wild pigs in their natural retreats will make a dent in their populations. That requires access to public and private land most of the year.

If authorities really believe that the wild pigs are spreading disease, endanger domestic pig production, eat wildlife and mess up pristine creeks, than bold and maybe unpopular decisions must be taken – even in the face of vociferous opposition of animal rights people and environmentalists. The only real and most efficient enemy of wild pigs are human hunters.

Therefore, it is either hunting in the Park and year round on private and public land or ineffective hand wringing while the boar merrily making more boar.

PJJ.

Two Of Six Boar Released Into Scottish Estate Succumb To Extreme Cold.

Update

In November of 2009 we reported about an experiment to use boar for bracken control. Trees for Life, a Scottish charitable group to preserve the environment, released boar from the Highland Wildlife Park into an enclosed research area to study the effects of boar rooting on bracken growth.

The extremely cold weather on the Dundreggan Estate killed on young boar. A second animal became also gravely ill. It was taken in for treatment with antibiotics. They did not improve or turn around his condition. Consequently, the boar had to be put down humanely.

The loss demonstrates two things in my opinion: First, even hardy native species suffer losses from harsh weather and other unfavorable environmental conditions. In a natural environment those losses are quickly replaced once more favorable conditions prevail. Secondly, wild animals that are kept in enclosures under the discrete care of humans may not be as hardy and resilient as their truly wild cousins.

Boar surviving the extreme cold on trash.

(Telegraph.co.uk; 01/12/2010) The boar shown in the picture above have nothing to do with the released boar on the Scottish Wildlife Estate. The picture just demonstrate to what length the animals will go to survive.

My original post is here: http://wildboarhunting.blogspot.com/search?q=bracken+and+boar

PJJ

Hunting Boar And Wild Pigs

Did you know . . .

That true wild boar avoid humans at all cost? They do not roam the forest looking to attack unsuspecting hikers. If you sound off (make noise), the boar will disappear. You do not have to shout either. Just talk and they will leave before you ever notice them.

The only exception is a sow with very young piglets in a nest. She will launch a preventive strike if you come to close. But before doing so, she will puff vehemently, then grunt loudly and unmistakably. If that does not discourage the interloper, she will attack.

Wild pigs that are conditioned to the presence of humans act differently. Their behavior is more erratic and much more unpredictable. While wild boar will flee, wild pigs and boar accustomed to human activities and presence might stay and then attack instead of fleeing.

PJJ

Wild Pigs in San Diego County.

An interesting comment to a previous post.

Remember my post on confirmed sightings of wild pigs in San Diego County? It created much traffic and interest. Among others, there was a comment about hunting the boar on private or tribal land. It sort of threatened dire consequences for those who dare hunt the wild pigs.

Just received and published a comment to the comment. You can find it at then end of the original post.

Since it might be a little hard to find, I quote what Anonymous said about the other anonymous comment:

“Anonymous fabricated his facts regarding Tribal Orders. Anon is clearly a anti-hunter in every respects. Tribal Counsels work closely and professionally with hunters; in fact, you experience great hunting opportunities and experience on Indian Reservations. Indian Hunting Guides are outstanding educators of the forest and hunting tactics. In addition, the Tribal Counsel would have published the order of prohibition in the local San Diego Tribune or other publication to place people on notice of such orders. I am planning my hunting trip.”

Interesting, isn't it?

Now if he had only given some details . . .

PJJ

Why Is It So Difficult To Control Wild Pig Populations? Can hunters rid us of a “real pest”?

Part II

Landowners have a strong economic motivation to control tightly access to their properties. It is called access fee, trespass fee, trophy fee, guide fee or whatever else suits you. Here in California, there are ranches that derive ten or more percent of their annual income from such fees.

Let's see, in California it will cost a hunter at least around 500 dollars in the form of a guide fee or access fees to hunt wild pigs on private land. On the other hand, Texas with its plague of wild pigs surely has much lower fees. Wild pigs are pests there and they have too many of them. Therefore, hunters should be welcome to hunt the nuisance boar on private land for a very, very small access fees. Right?

Wrong of course. Abundance of wild pigs and exorbitant damage done by them to agricultural crops or not, guide and access fees for wild pig hunts are not much lower in Texas. A boar hunter will still have to cough up at least 350 to 500 dollars for a hunt on private land.

Would you as a landowner really trade this income for some 'free' damage to your land and to the environment done by offroaders and hunters? I would not.

With that we have come once again full circle. If wild pigs learn to avoid traps, if they move around a lot when their placid lives are disturbed and if hunter access to private land is very restricted and costly, then it is inevitable that someone calls again for the US Cavalry to ride to the rescue!

Fly to the rescue would be the better formulation because helicopter based 'shooters' are getting ever more popular with the authorities as the favorite solution to the conundrum of how to shoot as many wild pigs in the shortest time possible without setting foot an another man's property.

Better yet, it also pleases the ego and the machismo of the shooters with the big guns, just as federal shooters with machine guns give the operator that Rambo or John Wayne feeling of instilling fear, domination and the power of merciless eradication of villains at any cost.

But heck, it is 'fair chase' and therefore must be good. After all, the shooter first uses his platform to scare the quarry out of hiding and then pursues it in a fair chase from above, giving them a fair chance to escape before inevitably being shot anyway. Isn't that much like dropping bombs on the heads of civilians from 30,000 feet?

Yet, much like civilians the smart wild pigs are beginning to learn to play dead when hunted by brave macho men in their flying machines. Once the danger has passed, they rise again to make more wild pigs - as relevant experiences in the Australian outback demonstrate.

Is there a better way of controlling wild pig populations? Yes, there are indeed several that best the flying killers. Birth control is one of them. Possibly the most promising and most humane – for humans and wild pigs alike. Finally sows could enjoy life in the sun free from ever lasting pregnancies. Is it going to happen? Well, there are experiments!

However, at this time establishment and vested interests are bringing up many arguments against birth control for wild pigs hoping that one or two might stick and protect their sine cure. Birth control for pigeons works, why not for pigs?

And then there is of course hunting. Hunting? Has hunting ever solved the problem of overpopulation and crop damage? Oh yes, it has. I will spare you the list of species hunted by man to extinction. Just go look for buffalo. When did you last see a herd of thousands of them roaming free in the West? Or a Dodo bird strutting its stuff?

Granted, hunting the way we practice wild pig hunts in this country today will not make a significant difference. Though there are plenty of boar hunters and hundreds of thousands of wild pigs scurrying around the wilderness and front yards, lethal encounters between the two are relatively rare. Why?

Because hunters usually cannot access land with substantial wild pig populations. And because guides are taking out one or a few hunters at a time on a one day hunt which yields maybe a dead boar or two. That will not make a significant difference. Even if 100 guides took out one hunter each on a given weekend, the long term impact on a boar population would be almost negligible because the culling is confined to small areas and affects only a minor segment of the total population. An active guide may organize boar hunts several times a week. That will also not change the picture much because the wild pigs just move to an adjacent more peaceful area. And with an average home range of 10 to 50 square miles, a sounder has plenty of real estate to evade increased hunting pressure. Thus your nuisance pigs become my tilling crew!

Furthermore, hunters have a tendency to go for large boar. Frequently the largest boar in a sounder is the pregnant lead sow. Harvest it (and her unborn piglets) and all females in the sounder will very quickly go into estrus – and produce plenty of new pigs to replace the fallen matron. If you are attempting to control wild pigs or to eradicate them on your property, you have just handed yourself a major defeat. One sow lost, up to 40 piglets gained. A sounder usually has about 3 to five or more females of breeding age. Each one of them will produce around 6 to 8 piglets. Boar can breed any time of the year, though there are two peak breeding seasons, one in winter and the other one in early summer. The wild pigs are out breeding individual hunters.

Central Europe has a different approach to population control, be it deer or boar. The Department of Forestry, essentially the equivalent of our Forest Service and the Department of Fish and Game rolled into one, sets maximum game densities for each species and each hunting lease. The owner of the lease is responsible for capping game at the predetermined numbers. If he fails to do so, the Forestry Department will either send their hunters in to cull the herd or force special hunts until the number of the game population is within the set limits.

Boar and deer drive are the most common means of population control. A drive is a special hunt that brings together a large number of invited hunters (on foot, mind you, and not in 4x4 vehicles), a multitude of drivers and dogs on a predetermined course designed to chase the game into a tightly controlled course. Along the course hunters are stationed in a way that allows each of them a clear and safe field of fire. It's almost like a military exercise in setting an ambush. The lease holder (or owner ) of the shoot acts as a quasi 'general'. He stakes out and prepares the the course, directs drivers and dogs and establishes the shooting positions. . Even a smaller shoot will bring together 40 to 60 hunters for such an event and an even greater number of drivers. A battue is not only a hunt but also a social event. It is also an rather effective way of reducing game numbers considerably in one well planned event.

It is not unusual to harvest sixty, eighty or more boar during one single drive. But that is not all,, deer, rabbits, foxes, badgers, birds and whatever else has an open season at the time of the drive will be taken or culled as well.

Battues are usually not only held on one hunting lease but move from one shoot to another over a number of weekends during the main hunting season. This results in an overall better harvest of boar because the ability of the quarry to move from one shoot to another in order to avoid hunting pressure is greatly reduced. After all, the boar may run away from a drive on one lease only to find themselves exposed to yet another drive on the hunting lease they chose as safe haven. Just like the boar below.

Compare this to our most common hunting method: One ranch, one guide, one to four hunters, one weekend at a time. One single sow can easily out breed losses from this type of boar hunting. Here we can see at least five get away!

I have never heard of organized drives for wild pigs in California. Maybe they are held somewhere on the east coast of the country or in Texas. But here? And if there are any, then they certainly would only be held for the friends of a rancher but exclude other hunters from participating. Thus, harvests of 60 or more wild pigs in one morning remain a dream for California wild pig hunters.

Yes, I hear you asking: Why then do so many European countries have ever expanding, out of control boar populations?

Simple answer. Just as in California, boar congregate where the feeding is easy and hunting pressure is low or non-existent. That means suburban areas of cities large and small, parks and areas used by people for recreation. No hunting is allowed in those areas. Not even our brave fly-boys are welcome.

As long as boar and wild pig can retreat to sanctuaries in close proximity to human population centers and find food, shelter and awed admirers in our parks, the wild boar will prosper and multiply. In Europe and even more so here in the United States.

Would it not be a worthwhile experiment to get the landowners in an area with high wild pig density to organize and cooperate in a series of wild pig drives over the course of a few weeks? Develop strategies, find drivers and their dogs, organize hunters and then systematically move the drives through a well defined group of ranches and farms in an area? No doubt, wild pigs, lots of wild pigs would be taken.

Look at these boar. They were harvested in 2005 during one single battue.

(http://saxtech.eu/Jagd/Drueckjagd-bei-Altenburg-2005.htm)

Agreed, it would not be easy because of the size of ranches in California and Texas and of the challenging territory . But has anyone ever tried?

PJJ

Hunting Boar And Wild Pigs

Did You Know . . .

That boar sows warn the sounder of imminent danger? When a human or other danger comes too close to their nest, piglets or feeding place, they puff loudly and vehemently. It raises the attention level of the other members of the group to a Stage 1 Alert.

If danger persists, the lead sow (the oldest female in the group) will sound the Stage 2 Alert: An aggressive, sharp grunt, which throws the sounder into full flight.

PJJ

The Story Of A Dog Called “Katze”.

Waiting For A Judas Boar To Join The Pack.

At the beginning was a lonesome Nimrod. His house and his heart were empty because his better half had decided to brighten another place with her special gifts. Having mercy with the grieving hunter, the Goddess Diana made a large Dachshund and sent him to the dejected. A white Pointer Mix soon materialized to assist in pushing the human off his couch.

For a while, the three hunters lived a happy, carefree life together without pressure and strive romping in fields and woods in pursuit of game.

But in life nothing good last forever. The Gods become jealous of peace, harmony, contentment and stir up the pot. Trouble appeared in the form of a very small, odd looking and strange smelling thing that made annoying high pitched noises. The resident dogs had many a heated argument over what to do with the stranger and how to handle her constant disturbances of the peace.

The Pointer girl held that maybe it is just a young, very small dog that needs affection and will eventually grow up and become just like us. The Dachshund matter-of-factly argued that if it does not smell like a dog it is not a dog and therefore must be prey. Consequently, the squeaky thing is to be brought down for good, he said.

Irritated by the constant bickering over the disposal of the strange 'thing', our grim hunter ruled that the newcomer would have to prove that she is indeed a hunting dog. Until such proof is given, she shall be considered a dog. He named her “Katze”.

Not long thereafter, the new dog started to integrate herself into the pack, waiting patiently in line to go hunting with the pack, struggling mightily to follow them into the car, bringing up the rear in field and forests. Courageously she followed the Dachshund into the deepest badger sets. The two evicted many a badger or fox from his burrow driving him into the guns of the waiting hunter.

However, her greatest talent was the stealth hunt. While the two dogs clambered noisily around looking for hidden game, yet only causing it to freeze in one spot, the new dog would silently and slowly stalk in the high grass, a silent, efficient killer that hears and sees everything without being heard or seen herself.

One day a very young fawn was hiding motionlessly for the return of his mother. He was unaware that the hunter and his three companions had found a mother deer that had been run over by a truck on a nearby road. It was the fawn's mother.

He was also not aware of the stealthy hunter nearby. Since the noisy dogs were far away and the new dog hunting silently, the fawn felt safe and called out for his mother. His bleating alerting “Katze” nearby. Fawn found, the new dog ran to the hunter to alert him to the fawn.

Together they swooped up the fawn, took him home and raised him till he could be safely released back into the wild.

Thereafter, the dog named “Katze” was finally accepted by all as an equal member of the hard working pack sharing equally in the hunt and in hard earned rest..

All is well that ends well! True, but it did not end so well for the orphaned fawn. As an adult he kept on confidently showing himself to hunters until he was 'accidentally' harvested by a hunter who did not know about his background.

Oh, by the way "Katze" suggested to look for a piglet to raise and train to lead the pack to his cousins in the field. Now, they are waiting for the Judas Boar.

JJ

Why Is It So Difficult To Control Wild Pig Populations? Can hunters rid us of a 'real pest'?

Part I

Many boar hunters ask themselves this question. They answer is obvious to me as I have discussed in previous posts. This time around let us look at an old study from 2007 about the 'ecological disaster' created by wild pigs.

Quoting from the article U.S. Pig Population an Ecological Disaster :

“The U.S. government estimates that there are more than 4 million wild pigs scattered throughout 40 U.S. states. The pigs are an ecological disaster, devouring huge amounts of crops, tearing up plants, and driving out native wildlife by outcompeting them.

The problem is so bad in some places that there are actually federal teams of hog hunters armed with machine guns. Private trappers and hunters serve a growing market of private landowners affected by the pigs.(emphases added by editor)

The animals breed quickly. They can have up to three litters of 9 to 10 young per year. Texas has the worst problem with the animals, with an estimated 2 million living in that state alone. Nearly half of the estimated £4 billion in damage the pigs cause annually occurs in Texas. A Department of Agriculture official refers to the animals as an “ecological train wreck.”

The animals even threaten endangered plant and animal species, particularly the sea turtle. Wild pigs often root up turtle’s nests for the eggs. The pigs have no natural predators, other than man, and so they are able to spread quickly. Not only that, but they may spread disease to humans, as well as livestock and pets. The animals were linked to a recent E coli outbreak in California spinach. The outbreak left three dead and hundreds more sick . . .

Hunting the animals has created a whole society and economy. Private trappers are frequently hired to rid areas of pigs, and they can make thousands of dollars by providing their services then selling the meat to buyers. Much of the wild boar served in restaurants comes from these trappers.

Hunters love hunting the wily animals. They’re extremely smart, and identify traps easily. Their size and temperamental nature also provides a dangerous challenge.

Tommy Stroud is a rifleman for Joe Paddock, the east Texas man who calls himself “The Dehoganator” and provides hog trapping and hunting services to private landowners.

Stroud said:

“The hog is the poor man’s grizzly. If you shoot at a hog, you’d better shoot straight, because if you don’t kill it, he might try and kill you.” . . .

Most states have plans to eradicate the animal, although Texas has all but given up on eradicating the animals. Mike Bodenchuck, of the US Department of Agriculture, said:

“The idea that we can eradicate hogs is probably off the table now. There’s just not enough money or public will. If you only had one solution they’d outsmart you every time.”

Bodenchuck hopes to control the population using an increase in control efforts and a greater variety of control methods. He fears that the animals will continue to spread if greater efforts to control them aren’t made soon.” (http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/ecology/us-pig-population-an-ecological-disaster/538)

The scientific community is concerned as well:

"We know that Texas has more feral hogs than any other state," says Billy Higginbotham, a

professor at Texas A&M University. "With 1.5 million in the state, we will never eradicate them.

The best we can hope for is to keep their numbers under control.

So-called feral hogs are descendants of swine that fled farms or boars that were released by

hunters for sport. They are thriving in the wild, in some cases reaching 400 pounds or more.

What all feral pigs share in common is an unbridled appetite for everything from lady-slippers to

acorns to zucchini. They've been known to tear up hundreds of acres of soil in a few nights

looking for what is beneath, ruining crop land. If they don't find enough food in the wild, they'll

plow through trash cans and yards.

And they reproduce like rabbits, breeding litters of a dozen or more piglets twice a year.

"I've seen as many as 19 babies," says Trent Horne, a 35-year-old hunting guide from South

Carolina. "They follow the sow around like ducklings follow a mama duck. Alligators get the

little ones down here. Snakes get some, too. But wild pigs are smart, and mama pig is a pretty

good protector.. .”(U.S. Experiences Population Boom – Of Feral Hogs, Tom Vanden Brook in USA Today)

Wild pigs gone wild sometimes force authorities to resort to unusual measures:

“-- In the scenic coastal city of Carmel, Calif., state transportation officials put up "Pig Crossing"

signs recently on Highway 1. The warnings went up after a motorcyclist received serious head

injuries after he slammed into a bunch of pigs darting across a road last year.

"These are not your Babe-type pigs," says Colin Jones, a California Department of

Transportation spokesman. "They're wild pigs, right next to an internationally known highway.

You wouldn't expect to see them here."

-- A wild pig gored a teenager in Louisiana, igniting fears of rabies after the animal tested

positive for the disease. Later tests showed the animal did not have rabies.

-- Feral hogs carry diseases including brucellosis, pseudorabies and tuberculosis. Some cause

reproductive problems in domestic pigs, Missouri wildlife officials say. Hunters also have been

chased up trees by aggressive pigs in the Show-Me State. . .” (U.S. Experiences Population Boom – Of Feral Hogs, Tom Vanden Brook in USA Today)

Come on! Isn't Texas the land of happy gun ownership where almost anything gun goes? Why do so few Texans shoulder their weapons and strike out into the hot, wild, inhospitable land where the average pig roams on a 10 square mile home range that expands to up to 50 miles under pressure and poor food conditions?

The answer to this leads us again to the arguments I have made before: Average Joe Hunter has only limited access to wild pig hunting grounds because most boar occur on private lands, in parks and nature preserves and other areas where hunting is restricted or not allowed at all. The wild pigs that can be found in suburban areas, on golf courses and in remote parking lots are safe from being hunted because shooting and hunting is not permitted for safety reasons – except for a few specially authorized hunters. Most of them are law enforcement officials.

On the other hand, landowners who do presumable suffer most from , and complain loudest, about the 'ecological disaster' perpetrated by rampaging wild pigs, are very reluctant to grant hunting access to their lands to just any hunter who happens to come their way. I do not like it, but can understand very well why they do so. After all, I have seen the tremendous damage irresponsible urban adolescents in their 4x4 do to parks, unpaved parking lots and any other lot that can be used to 'throw up some dirt'. Preferably on their trucks so that they can impress the ladies with their exploits in the 'wilderness'.

If I were a landowner, I would keep them out too. However, property owners have a strong economic motivation to keep access under control. Exactly what it is, we will see in Part II of this post.

Finally, just a quick aside regarding boar meat provided by wild pig exterminators and served in restaurants. I have second thoughts about purchasing boar meat that could come from wholesale slaughter of wild pigs by boar exterminators. It does not matter whether they are part of federal or private machine gun teams or of the Apocalypse Now variety wrapped up in their high of invincibility.

I seriously doubt that either will quickly and diligently process killed animals to keep their meat clean, safe and healthy for human consumption. Boar meat spoils very rapidly in high temperatures.

While animal rights activists should unpack their signs, update their slogans and launch noisy demonstrations against these sadistic extermination practices, government agencies charged with keeping our food supply clean and safe have a duty to impose equally strict regulations on quality and health standards of 'products' provided by wild pig exterminators.

PJJ

Part II will examine why hunting the way we do it today in California does not reduce boar populations.

Wild Pig Hunts At Lake Sonoma 2010 Restricted To Archery And Crossbow. No shotguns in 2010.

The annual wild pig hunt at Lake Sonoma for the 2009 and 2010 will end on March 26, 2010. You still have time to get in on this event that has had hunter success rates of up to 50 percent in the past.

Unfortunately there will be no shotgun hunting this season at all. Archery and crossbow only. No hunting on Mondays and Tuesdays either.

Valid hunting license, pig tags and drivers license are required for registration. Before the first hunt aspiring hunters must register with the park staff and obtain a vehicle/vessel registration. Thereafter, hunters can self-register at the begin of the hunt at the check in station and checkout at the end. If you hunt multiple days, checkout can be done at the end of the last hunting day.

Hunting stands and cameras are permitted. No dogs!

Also be careful not to leave the park and cross onto private land. There are guide services operating on neighboring ranches. They are guarding 'their' territory jealously. Therefore, do not even pursue wounded game on private property.

Details of the hunt are on the DFG website.