Bad Habits of Unsuccessful Boar Hunters

is the topic of a very informative article published by texashoghunter.com. The author of this piece compiled a list of the most common mistakes novice boar hunters are in his opinion prone to make.
Among them are some of my favorite bad hunting habits. Most of all, the ever present obsession with small calibers and wimpy loads. Though the author does not mention the infamous .243 rumored to be effective on 700 yard head shots, I am glad to see someone else point out the importance of applying enough fire power to put down even the largest, meanest boar a hunter might surprise.
A hunter who fears the recoil of a decent boar weapon has no business hunting wild pigs.

There is one more thing that should be included in this outstanding informative article: Underestimating the keen sense of smell wild pigs and boar have and thus the crucial importance of paying close attention to the wind direction.

Read for yourself what Neill Davidson of TexasHogHunter.com has to say:


"7 Bad Habits of Highly Unsuccessful Hog Hunters

How to Avoid Looking Like Rookie Hog Hunter
by Neill Davidson, Ranch Manager for TexasHogHunter.com


The secret is out. Hog hunting is a hair-raising, heart pounding experience that is turning average hunters into full blown adrenaline junkies. Many hunters will tell you hog hunting is the fastest growing sport in the United States and with new hog hunting outfitters popping up all over the country, it's hard to disagree with them.
        
Hog hunting is a year-round sport that offers an unparalleled adrenaline rush for both rookie and seasoned hunters. However, with thousands of new hunters flocking to this sport every year, it's no surprise that more and more of these hunters are going home empty-handed and completely frustrated. Just by simply becoming aware of some bad habits, you can greatly increase your chances of bringing down that trophy hog and end up having one of the most exciting experiences of your life.

    1. Impatience - among all of the bad habits, impatience is the one habit that frustrates outfitters the most. One prime example is how rookie hunters will not wait for the right shot. Instead, these hunters tend to rush their shots and will even go for the dreaded "running shot" and try to shoot a hog as it runs away. Hogs are in constant motion so practice being patient and wait for your shot - it will come. Another example is when an impatient hunter leaves his stand before it gets dark. Hogs often move during the twilight hour so the impatient hunter misses an excellent opportunity by getting out of his stand too early. Patience is your ally when it comes to hog hunting - use it to your advantage and you will end up having memories that will last a lifetime.

    2. Poor Shot Placement - another tell-tale sign of the unsuccessful hog hunter is poor shot placement. This bad habit is easy to spot because the hunter will go for the head shot in order to save meat or to impress his buddies. Head shots usually result in a wounded hog with its snout or jaw blown off. Even expert marksmen have trouble with head shots simply because the head is a much smaller target that tends to be in constant motion. Shot placement is critical to bringing down that trophy boar so do yourself a favor and learn where the kill zones are located on a hog.

    3. Underestimating a hog's vision - unsuccessful hog hunters are notorious for underestimating how well a hog can see. It's well known that hogs have a powerful sense of smell and acute hearing but there is a myth in the hog hunting community that hogs have poor vision. The unsuccessful hunter will habitually alert a hog to his presence by grabbing his gun or bow and ruin any chance of getting a shot. You might get away with slow movement but fast movement will get you caught every time. Stay as still as possible and never underestimate how well a hog can see.

    4. Assuming he missed - another bad habit of the unsuccessful hog hunter is to immediately assume he missed if he shoots a hog and it runs away. Subsequently, the hunter refuses to track the hog after his shot. One outfitter explained that in 2008 he found over 160 dead hogs on his property that were shot by his hunters but never tracked afterwards. It's a great feeling to drop a hog in its tracks but it's not unusual for a hog to run after being shot. Hogs have been seen running away even after being shot with a 7 Mag so don't assume you missed just because the hog runs away.  

    5. Underestimating a hog's intelligence - a common misconception among unsuccessful hog hunters is that "a hog is just a dumb animal." Any seasoned hog hunter will tell you hogs are quite cunning. Hogs adapt quickly to their environment and will make adjustments in real-time which can make it almost impossible to hunt them down. The unsuccessful hunter underestimates the hog so he fails to do his homework and simply won't put in the time to scout an area which would give him a greater opportunity to be successful. Instead of thinking you are smarter than a hog, your goal should be to learn how to think like a hog and then you will be on your way to becoming a successful hog hunter.
   


    7. Not bringing enough firepower - this is without a doubt the #1 bad habit among unsuccessful hog hunters. Many outfitters will tell you they have seen bullets bounce off a hog's skull because a hunter didn't bring enough firepower. Even if the hunter makes a good shot, a small caliber rifle simply cannot pierce a hog's thick shoulder blade and gristle plate which protects the kill zone. By avoiding this one bad habit alone, you can drastically increase your chances of becoming a successful hog hunter.

Hog Hunting is without a doubt one of the most exciting big game sports around. By avoiding these bad habits, you can definitely increase your chances bringing down that trophy hog. Take heed to the mistakes above and learn from others. Good hunting and keep it safe!"
(Texashighunter.com)

Wild Boar Hunting in California . . . Audio Version

We are working on a separate audio version of our publication "Wild Boar Hunting in California and Worldwide."

Neither the regular news feed nor our publication is affected by this change. You can read the boar hunting blog as usual or get updated news at http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/opmWb.

The new audio feed is at http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/WZSvp. We will add a new separate 'subscribe' button to the publication shortly.

Please bear in mind that this setup is still experimental. Only the most recent articles will be available in an audio version at this time. They also appear as audio versions on our printed blog for a few more days.
PJJ

Boar Podcast -- Wild pigs test squealing.

As of yesterday we are experimenting with an audio feed of our blog “Wild Boar Hunting in California and Worldwide”. Only the most recent articles are available as podcasts at this time. Our ultimate goal is to make all of our wild boar publications available in an audio version in addition to the printed editions.

One problem that still needs much attention are the pictures embedded in printed articles. Obviously, audio versions of the material can not render pictures. As a consequence we will not produce an audio edition of every single article but rather concentrate audio efforts on renditions without pictures.

Stay tuned and listen to what Miss Piggy has to tell you. You never know . . .

Call of Nature

Sounds of the Boar

Hunting is more than the pursuit and cold-blooded murder of Miss Piggy or wanton slaughter of Bambi for fun as some animal rights people may want you to believe. At least not in my book. Hunting is a great excuse to be in and enjoy the great outdoors far away from civilization. Hunting is at times communion with nature. Or just another reason to get away from it all and play caveman. Or Rambo? True, a quick visit to a private ranch and a guided hunt falls far short of such ideals. They are more commonly found in the wilderness where a hunter faces extreme difficulties to live up to high expectations of friends and family to bring home the bacon. Few wild pigs in public wilderness and forests!

Animal voices are an important part of nature. Boar and wild pigs as social beings contribute their share at times with overpowering, deafening effect. Such as during feeding chats, angry rants and when scared. That can make the roar of a jet taking off sound like child's play.

But there are also more intimate and tender moments to experience together. From pig to pig I mean. Like a friendly conversation during  feeding time or a sow calling her piglets to come to dinner. Let us not forget a down to earth cat fight.

If you run out on a guided hunt to get your 800 dollar wild pig in two hours, you never hear it. Yet, if on the other hand you spend a weekend on an unguided hunt on a ranch with a good wild pig population, you may just have the privilege of listening to the sounds of a sounder when young and old, wild boar and wild pig celebrate the discovery of a rich source of fat grubs with a cacophony of happy pig sounds. All together now . . .

(Boar voices come to you courtesy of participating animal artists under contract with http://www.tierstimmenarchiv.de/webinterface/guest.php, junglewalk.com and http://www.sounddogs.com/sound-effects/. These sites have large archives with sounds of animals.)

PJJ

Did You Know . . .

that sows conceiving in October and farrowing in January have slightly larger litter sizes than those impregnated in May and farrowing in September. Differences in fetal litter size are insignificant - in the range of 1 or 2 per fetal litter. Scientific research says so.

Police, Sticks, Guns vs. Lone Boar In China

 The following story is too good to be passed over or even to be reprinted in excerpts.

Though I feel sorry for the poor boar that innocently wandered into the hospital looking most likely for food, the Chinese report is fascinating, hilarious at times and a great example for human folly that is often brought to the surface by unusual, unexpected events.

The true hero in this story is the boar, most likely a sow, and not the courageous police with sticks and guns. A brave but tragic hero, of course. Chinese comments overwhelmingly concur with my opinion about this event. It could certainly have been resolved in a better, less violent manner without putting the scared and panicking boar to a slow and painful death.

If capture was not an option in the eyes of police, a single well aimed bullet from a high powered rifle would have been the next best. merciful solution. 

And made for better eating, I might add. 

Read the entire story to the bitter end. There are  few more pictures right at the bottom of the article.

Warning: The pictures may be offensive to some readers.

Here is the entire story. 

Chinese Police With Sticks & Guns vs. Rampaging Wild Boar

75 comments by Fauna on Saturday, January 22, 2011

A "wild boar" entered Zhongji Zhigong Hospital; in Taiyuan city of Shanxi province. The public security bureau mobilized police officers to capture it.

(. . .  redundant link in Chinese removed)

Taiyuan police capture wild boar, shoots 13 times to kill it

January 19th around 14:00, a “wild boar” ran into Zhongji Zhigong Hospital in Taiyuan city of Shanxi province. After after 3 hours of pursuit, the public security bureau [police] opened fired 13 times and shot it dead.

A police officer with a wooden stick/pole confronts the wild boar. Around 2pm, a "wild boar" ran into Zhongji Zhigong Hospital in Taiyuan city of Shanxi province through a sewer drainage pipe, hitting and injuring an elderly person riding a bicycle in the process.

After breaking several wooden poles and still not able to subdue the wild boar, the police took out a handgun and attempted to shoot the wild boar. Due to its completely wild nature, it rampaged throughout the hospital and chased pedestrians. Given the extreme danger to the many hospital patients at the time and through consultation with the forestry department, the public security bureau adopted decisive action and prepared to shoot it dead.

A police officer continues to hit the shot wild boar, several broken sticks lie nearby. After nearly one hour of pursuit, the public security bureau shot it dead after opening fire 13 times. According to preliminary guesses by forestry personnel and police, this wild boar very likely came from Taiyuan city's Xishan area by following the Yumen river into the Zhongji dormitory area.

A crowd and reporters at the scene look on. It is believed that this pig could be a wild boar and domesticated pig hybrid.

The police attempt to tie up the wild boar but the shot wild boar grabs the rope with its teeth. In recent years, improvements in its ecological environment and appropriate protective measures have resulted in more and more wild boars, with the wild boars entering cities and causing trouble becoming a common occurrence.

The wild boar stick in the drainage ditch, a police officer shoots from behind a fence.

After several hours of containment efforts and a total of 13 shots fired, the police finally shoot the wild boar dead.

People transport the dead wild boar away.

(Redundant Chinese link removed)


Comments from NetEase:
网易四川省成都市网友:

The police’s marksmanship is so good!

网易广东省东莞市网友:

After decades of being a JC, finally a chance to shoot his gun, wildly fires 13 shots, wahahahaha.
The pig head goes to the bureau chief, the pig legs to the provincial government department, split the rest with everyone else, and auction off the pig tail.

网易山西省太原市网友:

Looking at the third photo, that JC‘s facial expression, so wound up, I wonder what’s going through his mind?

网易广东省东莞市网友:

A bunch of mental retards! There are many ways to catch a wild boar like this, and instead they kill it!

网易天津市网友:

Let me explain to you guys:
The wild boar was running wildly, the police officer aimed and shot 12 times without hitting it. Then the wild boar stopped running, walked up to the police officer and pleaded: “Brother, just make it quick, okay? You’re scaring me. Even if I don’t get shot to death, I’ll be scared to death.” [scared by his ineptitude with the gun]
Finally, with the 13th shot, with the wild boar’s request and cooperation, the poor piggy went to heaven…

网易山东省网友:

Humanity is truly great, much stronger than wild boars, able to create guns. The police is even more impressive, able to open fire and kill life! A wild boar stuck in a ditch, and you still need to shoot it? Shooting and killing a wild boar stuck in a concrete ditch, you’re so impressive, so capable, and it was with 13 shots too!

网易青海省西宁市网友:

Watch Man vs. Wild (this is the Discovery show, not a movie). In it, Bear [Grylls] uses just a dagger to kill a wild boar. The main thing is that JC these days are useless. They’re okay with beating people and demolishing houses. But useless when it comes to doing proper work.

网易广东省东莞市网友:

The JC department should have a net, right? Why not just use a net to catch it and then let it go? The wild boar is a self-reliant animal, is it necessary to be so definitive? Just one shot is enough, but 13? Looks like that pig wasn’t [immediately] killed but died a slow painful death.

网易内蒙古呼伦贝尔市手机网友:

I grew up in Daxing’anling and the large wild boars were hundreds of kilograms and especially savage. In the past, I’ve gone hunting before (before hunting was prohibited), taking 3 months off from work, going to the mountains in winter stay 3 months at a time, and every kind of danger I’ve encountered before. That the police officer was able to stand before the wild boar for the safety of the ordinary common people makes him a true man and I salute him…

网易山东省青岛市网友:

Showdown between a wild pig and a national pig.

网易上海市嘉定区网友:

13 shots to kill a pig. Idiot.

Two additional photos from Xinmin & China Daily:


Two more photos from wohuia.com:


(Source: Man vs. Wild. Personals @ chinaSMACK.)

Wild Boar Damage British Cemetery In Germany

'British war cemetery damaged' is the headline of an article published by British Forces News at the end of February 2011. According to the article a sounder of boar, true wild boar and not feral pigs, raided a British cemetery in Berlin, Germany. It is the final resting place for more than 3,000 British and Commonwealth troops fallen during the liberation of Berlin.

(Courtesy of BSBS)

The boar destroyed approximately 10,000 square meters (almost 12,000 square yards) of lawn while foraging for grubs in November of 2010. The damage went undiscovered until February because of a thick, lasting snow cover.

In true boar fashion the animals got through the original fence around the cemetery grounds. An entirely new and improved fence will be installed as soon as weather conditions allow.

Where in Berlin is this mother and her brood going, I wonder. She could be returning from a cemetery raid, couldn't she?
PJJ

Did You Know . . .

that members of a sounder of boar occasionally groom each other in a display of social interaction? They use tongue and snout to unravel and smooth out each other's coat.

Advanced Hunting Clinics - April 2011

Cancellation and Reminders.

The Wilderness Survival Clinic scheduled for March 19 and March 20, 2011 was cancelled. 
Two advanced hunting clinics are scheduled for April 2011.

On April 9th the Salinas Valley Fairgrounds, Monterey  will host a wild pig hunting clinic. The seminar is as always held in partnership with the Pacific Coast Hunter  Education Association. The program will "cover pig biology, hunting considerations and requirements, methods of take, methods for locating wild pigs, hunting techniques, locations to hunt, care of game and, the final reward...wild pig recipes.  We will  be field dressing and skinning a pig."

That's the fun part because the field dressed and skinned boar will be a raffle prize. At least it was so in the past.

The cost for the clinic is $ 45.00. A BBQ lunch is offered for an additional
$ 10.00. Space is limited.
Call Lieutenant Dan Lehman at 916-358-4356 for more information. Beware, if you cancel two weeks or less before the clinic you will lose your registration fee unless you provide a replacement. This is a new feature of the advanced hunting clinics.


A Black Powder Hunting Clinic will be held on April 30, 2011 at the River Oaks Range in Winton, Ca in Merced County. Winton is most famous for a mention in Johnny Carson TV show in the 1970s because it was at that time the town with the highest crime rate in the US for a city of its size (8,832 in 2000). The only bar (Wagon Wheel) in town was a Hell's Angel hangout for many years.
This clinic is designed for those interested in learning about black powder rifles and for novice black powder hunters.

It will give participants ". . . the hands-on information you need to get started in Black Powder Hunting.  The clinic will include both class room and live fire exercises. The classroom portion will include a short history of black powder shooting, different styles of Black Powder Rifles used today, how to safely load and shoot the black powder rifle, Laws and regulations pertaining to black powder hunting and  hunting strategies for hunting with black powder firearms. The live fire exercise will be target shooting with black powder firearms. All course material and loaner black powder firearms will be provided. This clinic is designed for all skill levels."

Participation is limited to 25 participants. Persons under 16 are allowed for free as long as they are in the company of an adult. The cost of the clinic is $ 45.00. 
For more information call Lieutenant Dan Lehman at 916-358-4356.

Registration forms for both clinics are available for download from the DFG website.
PJJ

Did You Know . . .

that domestic pigs and research pigs organize their living spaces into sectors for sleeping, foraging and excretion of bodily wastes when given sufficient space and plenty of straw. They also configure some of the straw exclusively for bedding and for nesting.

Wild Pigs Plowing Grasslands

This time of the year hunters have a good chance of locating wild pigs in more or less open grasslands. Once pastures and meadows have turned brown and dry the boar move on to other and better food sources.

While foraging in moist pastures is still good, boar can plow an entire meadow in one night. Instead of rolling in the hay wild pigs roll over the grass.
 It looks like this:

And look what happened to a beautiful field of corn when boar got to it before the farmer could gather his harvest.

Wheat and barley do not fare better. Here is what a few wild pigs can do in passing by to a golden wheat field.

(All pictures courtesy of Junglewalk.com)

No wonder farmers and ranchers loathe boar and would like to rid themselves of wild pigs. But why are they charging $ 500.00 to 1,000.00 for a boar hunt, I ask.

Do you know the answer?

PJJ

On Hunting Boar and Wild Pigs

Did you know . . .

that pigs (sus scrofa, porkus porkus and anything in between) are the only mammal without sweat glands? Of course, you did.
In order to stay as cool as possible they wallow in mud. After their beauty bath they rub against trees to brush off the baked on mud including ticks and fleas.
The result looks like this:

(junglewalk.com)

Boar Hunting In Santa Barbara County - Update and correction.

In my previous articles about Rancho San Fernando Rey near Santa Barbara I covered the ranch, their population of wild pigs and their fee schedule.

I have a few additions to my articles. They are prompted by questions from readers and a clarification by Marco, one of the guides at the ranch. He points out that a fee of $ 100.00 for access and guide services comes due even when the hunter does not harvest a wild pig because of "no show boar". This was not quite clear in my write-up.

Rancho San Fernando Rey is located in the Condor Zone of California. Hunters must therefore use lead free bullets. In addition, a valid California or out of State hunting license and pig tags are also required in order to be allowed to hunt at the ranch. As a guide licensed by the California DFG Marco is checking hunting license and pig tags before the hunt.

If you happen to be in the area when you feel the itch to go out for a hunt, you could still do so (provided an opening is available) even if yo do not have your rifle with you. The guide will let you use one. But this should be a rare exception and not the rule.

This should settle the topic once and for all.
PJJ

Successful Boar Hunt At Rancho San Fernando Rey

Report on a productive hunt and a pleasant experience with boar hunting at the ranch. After a drive of two and a half hours from metropolitan Los Angeles/Orange County it took only about ten minutes to sport a sounder of wild pigs. Grant H., our reporting hunter, tells the rest.

”My hunt at the ranch went well.

Guide Marko has worked on the 30,000 acre Rancho San Fernando Rey for 15 years. His is smart, personable, knowledgeable and is raising his family on the ranch located 30 minutes outside of Santa Barbara, in the rolling hills to the north. We met before sunrise, and after a brief drive through the open countryside located a sounding of 20 boars and sows of varying age grazing in an open area. Marko, my buddy Mario and I approached on foot through the heavy brush and took positions on either side of a huge Oak. Firing simultaneously, Mario and I both took sows weighing between 150 to 200 lbs. Mario only wounded his pig (lousy shoot) but redeemed himself with a second hit on the fleeing animal.

What I expected to be a simple field dressing was actually a complete butchering by the very capable Marko, and I went home with heart and liver, back straps, ham, shoulder, ribs and spine. The game meat was odorless, well marbled and the liver was delicious at dinner, with my picky daughter saying it was very good. My BBQ is this Saturday!

This was my first animal with a new Remy 700 .308 Tactical. . .”

I asked Grant about the size of the sounder and whether he saw any piglets.

He counted about 20 boar and sows of widely varying sizes. No piglets sighted.

Regarding my most recent article about not shooting Miss Piggy he remarked:

“I saw your write-up on Rancho San Fernando Rey in your blog, and encourage you to add my comments and the attached photo below, to validate your overview. I won’t have shot the big sow except she stepped in front of my target at the last second, so I switched to her. Anyway, all the guides complain about the excess of pigs, and between Mario and me a total of 10 were eliminated with two shots.

A .308 is a bit overpowered at 80 yards.”

Grant H.

So would be a 30-06 at that distance as I know from personal experience. Though I consider the two calibers among the best and most universal boar calibers readily available, they definitely can be bruisers on short shots.

Congratulations Grant to the successful hunt.

Several observations strike me right away: Your experience with wild boar hunting at the ranch confirms at this time the claim of a 100 percent success rate. It also shows clearly that guide personnel on that ranch lives up to its reputation for excellent success rates and outstanding customer service. Furthermore, the ranch either holds an unusually high number of boar that have not yet been subjected to extensive hunting pressure or the guide has extraordinarily good knowledge of the hiding places of the wild pigs and their daily routines. Ten minutes to locate the game and present it for a shot is hard to beat!

Surprised to hear that you took the heart and the liver. Most hunters I have been with leave it behind not knowing what they are missing. In numerous Old World countries heart and liver are considered a delicacy. In others, the heart is presented to the successful hunter while the body of the game belongs to the owner of the shoot/hunting lease.

Finally, some readers apparently misunderstood my original remarks about the ranch and the references to a private hunting club (with the address of the ranch). I did not question the validity of the boar hunting at Rancho San Fernando but expressed only my concerns about possible confusion over the name(s) because of the identical address. I heard about the ranch and their success rate years ago in nearby Goleta. The ranch is were it is said to be, offers excellent wild pig hunting and a winning guide.

Because of its close proximity to Los Angeles, a proven boar populations, excellent fee schedule, great service and a pleasant guide, Rancho San Fernando Rey is the place to go for success challenged wild pig hunters in Southern California.

And:  No, nobody offered me a free hunt for a few good words about the place.

PJJ

 

Wild Pig Hunting On Private Ranch In Santa Barbara County

GPS location information can be confusing.

According to some readers the GPS coordinates of Rancho San Fernando Rey can be confusing. Some GPS sets associate Rancho Oso with the coordinates for Rancho San Fernando Rey.

Rancho Oso is on 3750 Paradise Road. The hunting ranch Rancho San Fernando is at 166 Paradise Road. Rancho Oso is an equestrian ranch. They do not allow hunting of any kind.
Moreover, the manager of the ranch pointed out to me that hunting is prohibited for a quarter mile on either side of Paradise Road.

That does not affect any hunter  on Rancho San Fernando as long as you stay on ranch property. Yet it is still wise to remember the prohibition. Just in case . . .
PJJ

Do Not Kill Miss Piggy, Please.

She is matriarch, teacher and leader in wild pig sounders.

Young animals need to be taught the basics of being a good, well adjusted members of their species. Animal mothers provide and teach all skills youngsters need to survive and to thrive. Without matriarchs animal family groups fall into disarray.

 

Years ago when African elephants became a nuisance and plague in certain parts of that continent, ranchers, hunters and authorities resorted to shooting the matriarch of elephant herds in hopes that it would slow down or stop the reproduction rate. Young females, juvenile and teenage male elephants were left alone. Literally.

The result was an epidemic of young rampaging male elephants. These animals left the confines of reservations, raided plantations and villages, caused inter-tribal elephant trouble everywhere. They also became an ever present danger to locals in the area. Why?

Few elephant mothers were left to teach the youngsters social skills, seasonal challenges, traditional migration routes, even where to find safely seasonal food sources and appropriate interaction with the environment and other lifeforms around them.

They also had no fear of man and cared little about his children, animals and properties. Dozens if not hundreds had to be shot on sight to resolve the man made problem.

Miss Piggy is the matriarch of her sounder. It consists mainly of her daughters, offspring of her daughters, young male boar and the occasional mature male during mating season. She is usually the oldest sow in the group, the mother of very many, the guardian of the family secrets – such as territory, seasonal food resources, water, safe hiding and resting places, farrowing grounds, protected escape routes and the like. A wild pig matriarch is a living, breathing, walking memory bank, an invaluable irreplaceable moving, eating, breeding source of knowledge, survival skills and, oh yes, tribal discipline.

Miss Piggy, or should I more correctly say Mrs. Piggy, is the strength and the soul of her sounder. Take her and the remaining members will become like a rudderless ship in the sea of daily survival challenges. The death of the matriarch is a serious setback for the entire boar tribe. It will lose direction, deliberate use of the home territory, the nesting and resting grounds. Members of the sounder may disperse in random directions and because of inefficient use of natural seasonal food and other resources the health of many members of the family may decline. And so will reproduction rates. At least until a new matriarch emerges and takes control of the sounder.

Ranchers, farmers, gardeners and local nearby residents could consider a sounder in disarray a blessing.

There could be fewer snouts to dig up pastures, forest floor, gardens and crops. Reproduction rates may drop.

It is all a short sighted blessing, I say.

Without the guidance, control and teaching of and by the wild pig matriarch young members of the family group will not receive the lessons needed to make them 'socially skilled' members of a sounder. They will have to learn the hard way where and when to find food, water, resting and hiding places. Well-fed boar living off natural resources are good boar. They do not raid crops and pastures. Wild pigs transgress on agricultural fields only after all natural resources have been exhausted. What if you cannot find all of them because Mother Piggy was shot dead? Any self-respecting boar will rampage through human habitations and habitat. Aggression levels can be expected to be higher as well since the tempering influence of an experienced sow is missing. Male boar might roam farther and wider in search of a new abode. Increased, often hostile, interaction with humans is likely.

Shooting matriarch Piggy is therefore not a great idea. It is definitely a two-edged sword. On one hand, fewer piglets – maybe- on the other wider dispersal of members of the sounder, erratic movements in the home range, increased inter family aggression, young boar going berserk, food shortages because of the lack of knowledge of seasonal resources.

It all ads up to more risk and greater damage inflicted by wild pigs on the environment and man.

Do you really itch that much to dispose of Miss Piggy?

PJJ

Foreign Wild Pigs Attempt To Take Over -- Hogging e-mail.

Over the course of the last two days we received an unusual amount of wild pig hunting related e-mail commenting on several of our most recent posts. Though most came purportedly from different readers, they all talked about boar hunting in a far away country. And they all came from the same address.

I have nothing against hunting wild pigs, boar or any of the many other local suidae in foreign countries. More power to you if you can afford it. I might even write an article about it provided you have something to contribute that is of interest to our readers or furthers their understanding and knowledge of this extraordinary game animal.

But e-mail messages and/or comments that deliver nothing but meaningless babble as pretext for spam irritate me. Taking a page out of the playbook of wild boar, I lowered my head and slashed at the enemy's vulnerable header info setting spam bots on the trail.
Next time we will pig out going after the ISP that allows a foolish promoter to hog e-mail, time and space.
PJJ

Low-Cost Wild Pig Hunting On Private Ranch In Santa Barbara County

Part II

Good news for hunters living in Southern California. There is at least one private ranch with a good to excellent boar population and reasonable, fair prices for guided hunts. Better yet, it is only about 100 miles away. And they claim a 100 percent success rate for harvesting or at least seeing a wild pig.

Under normal traffic conditions it takes approximately 90 minutes to get from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara and another maybe half an hour to drive to the ranch. But that beats driving to wild pig population centers in the Central Valley.

Drive time to reach the Tejon Ranch in Kern County is about the same. If you have a private plane or know someone who does, it is only 87 miles from L.A. to Santa Barbara. But you will still have to get from the airport to the ranch.

Even if you hit one of the infamous traffic snags on your way to Santa Barbara because you picked the wrong day of the week or the wrong time, it is well worth your time and effort, Your rewards are a beautiful piece of California, a rich population of wild pigs and an outstanding success rate if the claims of the guides prove to be accurate and sustainable.

Rancho San Fernando Rey at Stag Peak is a 30,000 acre cattle ranch located between Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez. Highway 154 leads from Santa Barbara through the San Marcos Pass to Paradise Road . Access to the ranch is at Paradise Road.

The SantaYnez River runs through the ranch providing water and diverse habitats along its way. Loma Alta is the highest elevation (at more than 2,700 feet) delivering breathtaking views of the ranch, Lake Cachuma and surrounding lands and valleys.

The terrain varies from open flat grasslands to rolling hills with oak woods and deep brushy canyons. Many carry water in creeks and streams. Much of the land makes for excellent year round habitat for wild pigs. Cattle operations offer additional benefits for boar. They like to hang out in the vicinity of cattle hoping for free food to come their way.

In my previous article about the ranch and its wild pigs I related information received from Marco the guide. My impression was that boar were not hunted aggressively on the ranch until wild pigs became a problem for pastures and horses. As a consequence ranch management decided to hunt the boar more frequently.

I may have misunderstood him and wrongfully assumed that on this peaceful cattle ranch wild pigs were only hunted to add table-fare for the ranch workers. But then I found a referral to Stag Peak Hunts in a list of hunting ranches and clubs published in 2009 by the California Department of Fish and Game. The address of Stag Peak Hunts is the same as the address of the ranch. The contact phone number of Stag Peak Hunts is also the number of Rancho San Fernando Rey's business office. Contact person for the hunting club is Scott Radlfinger who is the ranch manager.

Among hunted species DFG lists coyote, deer , dove, pheasant, pig (sic), quail and turkey. (http://www.dfg.ca.gov/licensing/pdffiles/commercialhuntclublist.pdf)

An even older reference to the hunting venture going back to 2005, I believe, shows one of the ranch owners as contact person.

The most current published list of guides and outfitters in California (dated January 14, 2011) still names Stag Peak Hunts and Scott Radlfinger but not the ranch proper.

Ranch or outfitter – it does not matter. Rancho San Fernando Rey is an attractive location for wild pig hunters living in Southern California. I heard of it a few years ago in passing but did not pay enough attention to jump on it because I was preoccupied with Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Wild pig hunting at Rancho San Fernando Rey is indeed a very attractive proposition because of its proximity to Los Angeles and other urban centers. Their fee schedule is equally intriguing. It is one of the best offers – if not the best - for wild pig hunting on private land close to population centers in Southern California.

Here are their terms (according to guide Marco):

Basic access/guide fee; hunt, shoot, miss or no pigs: $ 100.00/person

Hunt, harvest meat hog: $ 250.00

Hunt and kill a trophy pig (over 400 lb) $ 400.00

Field dressing game/quartering: No charge, tip only (to guide)

Success rate: 100%

Marco is particularly proud of his impeccable performance presenting wild pigs to his hunting clients on every outing. He told me that there was even a time he could go out to hunt a boar and come back 10 minutes later with his game. Times have hanged because of more aggressive hunting of the wild pigs. But he still swears his clients will see and get a chance at harvesting a boar on every hunt.

The wild pigs in turn reacted to the increased hunting pressure as they always do. They simply moved further away from the ranch headquarters, dwellings and ranch buildings. They made themselves a new home a canyon or two over from their previous favorite spots. No doubt, if the hogs are hunted in their new hideout for any extended period of time, they will move again. And tracked down, located and hunted again in the new hiding places.

A ranch of the size of Rancho San Fernando Rey is big enough for the boar to elude intensive hunting pressure by moving away from it to a new location without ever completely leaving the ranch. Looks to me like wild boar hunters of Southern California have a reasonably priced place to resort to when they feel the itch to do do some wild pig hunting.

For more and detailed information and pictures of the ranch go to their website at http://www.rsfr-sb.com or call  guide Marco at 805 448-6140. The ranch is located at 166 Paradise Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93105. Location info is here:

http://www.lat-long.com/Latitude-Longitude-273197-California-Rancho_San_Fernando_Rey.html

I intended to show you some pictures of the ranch. Contacted Scott Radlfinger, the ranch manager, to ask for permission to lift the pictures from their website. No reply. No pictures.

PJJ

Did You Know . . .

all words the English language has for pigs?

Adult male pigs are called boars
Adult females are called sows
Juvenile animals are called piglets and farrows
Young pigs between 100-180 pounds (50 to 90 kg) are called shoats
A gilt is an immature female pig
A barrow is a castrated male pig
Hog is used as a synonym of pig in the United States; in its original sense it means a castrated boar.
Swine is a plural noun meaning pigs.
(JungleWalk.com)

Now you know them all.

Still struggling . . .

It happened again. I posted a 'Read More . . .' marker in the html of the blog article. It does what it is supposed to do in the news feed but it cuts off the actual post to the blog at the point of the marker.

I do not want to short change my readers for the sake of Twitter or any other social website. Therefore, no more 'Read more' until I have learned how to have the cake and eat it at the same time.

Please let me know if you know how to do this. Thanks.

Boar In The News - - Latest Cash Crop in Germany: Boar.

Boar worldwide are grabbing the attention of the media. They are hogging headlines and make journalists pig out on never ending horror stories about the evil exploits of boar. February 2011 was no exception. Let us ignore the usual stories of Grandma Moses being visited by a wild boar that insisted in sharing the dinner table with her. Let us not mention farmer Hiram lamenting and crying because a small herd of wild pigs plowed through his barley field that was ready for harvesting.

No, we have better fish to fry, ahem, pigs to roast.
Radioactive wild boar for example.

Radioactive boar mean cash for German hunters.

In 2010 'Der Spiegel' ran a story on radioaactive boar rampaging all over Germany.The boar are still there, They are still radioactive and their numbers are still increasing at an alarming rate. In 2009 German hunters killed approximately 650,000 boar. One year earlier only 270,000 were taken.


The number of boar harvested is not the most amazing thing about radioactive boar in Germany. The fact that the number of radioactive boar is increasing is not so surprising when we consider the unusual warm winters and the abundance of corn planted for the purpose of converting it into bio-fuel. No, the surprising part is the amount of money the German government has to pay hunters for radioactive boar killed. Any boar meat that exceeds 600 becquerel cannot be used for human consumption.

According to 'Der Spiegel' ". . . in some areas of Germany, particularly in the south, wild boar routinely show much higher levels of contamination. According to the Environment Ministry, the average contamination for boar shot in Bayerischer Wald, a forested region on the Bavarian border with the Czech Republic, was 7,000 becquerel per kilogram. Other regions in southern Germany aren't much better."

". . .Though the Chernobyl explosion happened a quarter century ago, high levels of radiation remain in the region’s vegetation. And wild boars are especially susceptible because of their proclivity for mushrooms and truffles, which are especially efficient at absorbing radiation. . . . Indeed, whereas radioactivity in some vegetation is expected to continue declining, the contamination of some types of mushrooms and truffles will likely remain the same, and may even rise slightly -- even after a quarter century", writes Der Spiegel.

Consequently, "Bavarian hunters have been testing ways to reduce the amount of caesium-137 absorbed by wild boar. A chemical mixture known as Giese salt, when ingested, has been shown to accelerate the excretion of the radioactive substance. Giese salt, also known as AFCF, is a caesium binder and has been used successfully to reduce radiation in farm animals after Chernobyl. According to Joachim Reddemann, an expert on radioactivity in wild boar with the Bavarian Hunting Federation, a pilot program in Bavaria that started a year and a half ago has managed to significantly reduce the number of contaminated animals."

Bavaria alone has 70 check stations that are inspecting boar brought in by hunters for radioactive contamination.

In 2010 the German government paid hunters about $ 550.000 for radiactive boar. That is four times as much as the compensation paid in 2009.
Since radiactive boar will be around for maybe another 50 years, I have the nagging suspicion that a nice cottage industry based on radiactive boar will be thriving for a long time.

Less aggressive boar.

On a brighter side we can note with great relief that grandma does no longer have to be afraid of the big bad boar. At least not if Dutch researcher are on the right track.
Vetsweb.com reported in January 2011 on the use of a taint vaccine on boar under the headline:

Aggressive behaviour of boars reduced

"The Committee for Medicinal Products for Veterinary Use (CVMP) and the European Commission (EC) have approved the use of the boar taint vaccine Improvac (Pfizer) for the reduction of aggressive and sexual (mounting) behaviour in boars. After vaccination with Improvac ,,, boars demonstrate behaviour similar to that of castrates or females..."

“The action of Improvac means that entire boars can be raised without the handling issues normally associated with full grown boars, and of course without the risk of tainted meat,” said Niels Wuyts, associate director, veterinary operations of Pfizer Animal Health Europe.

“It also means that boars are much less likely to injure each other during the late stages of production or during transit, and so the risk of losses due to bruising or other carcass damage is reduced,” he said.

This research was of course done on domesticboar (porkus porkus), but there is no reason not to believe that it would be equally successful in wild boar. The question is hower: How can it be selectively applied in the wild to male boar only. Special feeding station posted "Male Boar Only" could be considered by some as a violation of equal rights principles, couldn't they?

On the other hand, the benefits of having more docile boar live in close proximity to human habitations or in our cities are undisputable.
I am thinking, for example, of the boar that live in an Italian Nature Preserve but frequent the farms and homes of their human neighbors.

These boar have have been known to be belligerent at times. Or take the boar that live in parks and gardens of many European cities, too close for comfort for some. Let us not forget Marko the guide on a cattle ranch near Santa Barbara. He and his coworkers had to drive the boar away with sticks and shovels because they were harassing the horsesfor their food.

A little Improvac in the morning may go a long way to guarantee peace and harmony
Sources
[1] Data on File (EU 3b program). Pfizer Inc., New York, NY.
 [2] Cronin G.M. et al., 2003. The effects of immuno- and surgical-castration on the behaviour and consequently growth of group-housed, male finisher pig. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 81 (2003) 111-126.

Our next story is most unusual and has a sad ending. It could be proof that my contention that cops and pigs make uneasy companions is correct. Except that this time we are not talking about a trained police service pig. No, Blue was a pot-bellied pig! A very special pot-bellied pig with high credentials nevertheless.

Blue was a pot-bellied pig.

Blue lived with his family in Fuquay-Varina, N.C. They all loved Blue and Blue loved them, writes Adam Owens. He works at WRLA.com (Capitol Broadcasting Company). I'll let Adam Owens tell the story. I do not like tragic stories like that, especially not when they are based to a great deal on ignorance.

"An off-duty Wake County sheriff's deputy shot and killed Blue with a bow and arrow last week because he thought the animal was a wild boar. Blue had gotten out of his pen and walked into the neighbor's yard.

"(The neighbor) said, 'I have two kids and I will not let them go down there because I know what a wild boar can do,'" Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison said Wednesday.

Then, the neighbor called another neighbor, an off-duty sheriff's deputy.

"He did shoot the pig with a bow and arrow," Harrison said. "It is tragic. He hates it; no one hates it worse than he does."

The deputy, whose name was not released, did not violate any laws, Harrison said.

The pig was a service animal; he was specially trained to help Nicole Sickles deal with a medical condition that caused her to have seizures.

"He would immediately be next to me, or sense it and come running," said Nicole Sickles.

Blue also helped with the development of the Sickles' 5-year-old son, who has Down's syndrome.

"It was 11 years. It felt like a lifetime. So many emotions I can't describe," said Nicole Sickles.

Pot-bellied pigs can be domesticated. They are smaller than boars and most often do not have teeth. Boars are known to be aggressive.

Although they miss their pet, the Sickles family said they forgive the deputy.

"He has been nothing but remorseful for his actions," Nicole Sickles said.

Attempts to contact the deputy were unsuccessful.

The Sickles family says the deputy offered to buy them a new pig, but they declined."
(Copyright 2011 by Capitol Broadcasting Company.)

I am astonished that the next door neighbor did not know the Sickles family had a pet pig and that the deputized neighbor could not tell the difference between a pot-bellied pig and a 'dangerous' wild boar.
I am therefore tempted to think that maybe one did not like the idea of living next to a pig and the other saw a great opportunity to bag his 'boar' - finally. We can assume that the deputy is a hunter because for what other reason would he have a bow and arrow and hunting arrows in his possession? To hunt terrorists?
PJJ