The wild hog population has been spreading across the United States ever since. The desire to hunt these wild hogs, now the second most popular big game animal, combined with hunters moving and releasing them to various locations across the country, and the fact that hogs will breach many kinds of fences, has resulted in wild hogs now being located in every county of South Carolina and more than 4 million hogs in at least 45 of our 50 states. They have also been spotted on Daniel Island. This nonnative species has been referred to as an "ecological disaster" in a recent report by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
An invasive and destructive species, wild hogs cause 1.5 billion dollars in ecological and economic damage annually in the United States. Wild hogs damage native ecosystems. According to a study done by Clemson University, "Besides man, (wild hogs) are the greatest vertebrate modifier of natural communities." Their rooting damages the natural environments of native plants and animals, causes an increase in soil erosion, and nonnative plants, and decreases water quality. They damage and consume crops and pastures. The rooting and trampling results in soil compaction, water infiltration and a disruption of the nutrient cycle of the soil. They destroy fences, roads, and dikes, and affect the regeneration of timberlands.
Wild hogs are opportunistic eaters. The majority of their diet consists of plant and animal matter. Native wildlife must compete with them for food sources. They also eat eggs, fungi, carrion and whatever garbage they can find. They prey on various livestock and ground nesting birds. Wild hogs even affect endangered native plant and animal species in South Carolina and other states. Endangered loggerhead turtle nests are often destroyed and eaten by wild hogs.
Adult male wild hogs tend to travel alone while the sows and their offspring can form family groups that can grow to more than 100 hogs. A family group of hogs, called a sounder, tend to stick to a general 4 to 50 mile area as long as food, water, shade and escape cover are available, but will wander and move on when the supporting resources are no longer found. They are active in either day or night as necessary for survival.
Male wild hogs average about 220 lbs. while the females are about 155 lbs. An adult may be 30 inches tall at the shoulder and have a total length of 5 to 6 feet. Coat coloration varies due to the mixed ancestry and may be solid, spotted, or belted. The upper canines may form sharp tusks that grow upward and outward making these aggressive animals extremely dangerous when cornered or threatened. Wild hogs can run up to 30 mph, jump a 3-foot fence, make quick turns and steep climbs while running and can climb out of a 5-6’ fence trap.
Wild hogs are known to carry numerous diseases. Some affect livestock and pets, and some affect humans.
These animals have a high reproductive rate. Sexually mature at 3 to 6 months old, wild hogs breed year round, may birth 6 or more babies per litter, and may have multiple litters per year. At this rate, once established, their numbers are extremely difficult to control. Sport hunting removes only an average of 20 percent yearly. To keep their numbers stable 50 to 70 percent would have to be removed every year. Sport hunting alone cannot accomplish this.
Michael Bodenchuk, the Texas State Director of Wildlife Services, in a documentary video made by the Mississippi State University Extension Service, A Pickup Load of Pigs, states, "The number of feral hogs is so excessive in many places that simple control by hunting or trapping is not enough. With over 2 million hogs in Texas (alone) we are not going to bar-b-que our way out of this problem."
Definite signs that wild hogs may be in an area include rooting, in which the hogs dig up the ground with their snouts and hooves looking for food. Wallows, or mud holes, are used by the hogs for relief from the heat or external parasites. Nests or beds used for protection from the weather and predators and as resting places. Mud rubs can be seen at the base of trees or utility poles after wallowing. Tracks may be found. Often confused with white tailed deer tracks, which are pointed, the tracks of wild hogs have rounded tips.
Since hunting alone cannot solve this problem, other solutions are being researched including reproductive control. Presently, trapping large groups at once using a process over time to lure the hogs then euthanize them is the technique recommended by wildlife officials. They are quick to say trying different methods or a combination of methods may be required. There exists a definite conflict between those who enjoy hunting wild hogs for sport and farmers and naturalists who see and understand the major force for extinction and ecological change this nonnative species has become to the environment of our country. Those hunters who simply want to hunt these hogs, who continue to catch and transport these hogs to other areas then release them and leave the rest to the hogs, "have a home grown wildlife management of their own kind. They make their own rules. They do their own thing," explained Buddy Goatcher, Contaminants Specialist for the US Fish and Wildlife Services.
Removing large populations of wild hogs is an expensive and large scale effort made more complicated by conflicting views. A farmer who has endured much damage and economic loss due to wild hogs may try to capture and rid the area of his expensive problem, while his neighbor who is not a farmer, but enjoys hunting may find and release the hogs caught in the same trap.
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is supported by a number of other SC agencies in the effort to reduce the expansion of wild hogs. Last year the South Carolina General Assembly passed a new law with new restrictions requiring permits for removing or transporting hogs from the wild. A permit is also required to release wild hogs into any pig hunting enclosures.
Eurasian hogs and their wild descendants were never intended by nature to be part of the ecology of our country, and certainly not in the numbers that now exist. Initially, when man unknowingly made the first mistake in the 1500’s introducing the species to this country the problem was small enough that nature could possibly have adjusted for it. Over the years, as is often the case, man’s impact has continued to exacerbate the problem. The mistake has been, and continues to be repeated, even though we now know better, either because some hunters do not understand or because they do not care about the effect on the environment and the imbalance they are creating in nature’s plan for the healthy function of the earth. Meanwhile, wild hogs continue to thrive, out of control, and continue to cause damage costing millions of dollars.
Wild hogs are now considered an "ecological disaster" and a destructive species in a place they were never meant to live.
-Debby Hill
