Wild Boars
Impact
Wild boars have a devastating ecological impact, they are fully capable of devouring entire crops, tearing up (rooting) plants, as well as driving out the native wildlife, and competing with them. One of the reason why the species can be so harmful to the environment is because of the rate of speed in which they can reproduce. Each female is capable of having three litters a year with about 9 to 10 pups in each litter. Besides man, the boar does not have any threats in the habitat, this allows it to do basically whatever It wants whenever wants, since it does not have to worry that it is going to be eaten or attacked by other animals. Another impact that the boars have is that at times they have been known to breed with domestic animals, creating crossbreeds that farmers are likely not able to use.
Introduction
There have been a number of times where different species of boars were introduced to the states. The first time the wild boar was introduced to America was in 1539. Hernando de Soto was responsible for introducing the boars. Different species of wild boars have been introduced throughout different times in history. In the 19th century, German Boars were introduced and later in the 20th century Russian Boars were introduced. The boars were introduced by hunting enthusiasts and were considered a prize animal. Even with all of the hunters, the American habitat provided a lush environment for the boars to live in and their numbers increased exponentially, something that is still going on today.
Eradication
There are several different ways to eradicate the feral hog. The most effective way of getting rid of them is by using a helicopter and a trained shooter. One man said he killed 86 hogs in one hour using a helicopter. There are several people in the state of Texas that make a living by eradicating the hogs from ranches and rural neighborhoods. These people may use traps so they can catch the hogs in the neighborhoods. Others use lethal force such as high powered rifles or semi automatic guns to kill them. In fact there are even television shows dedicated to following these hunters as they go after the hogs. You cannot put out poison for the animals because there are often other animals in the same area that would eat the same foods as the hogs. They cannot donate the meat of the animals shot due to the bullet fragments that may be in the meat. It is estimated that there are 3 billion feral hogs in the United States. They are all over in the south as well as in Washington and Oregon.
What is the Feral Hog?
The feral hog is basically a domesticated pig that has either been turn lose or escaped from captivity. Once the domesticated hog is free to roam they will more than likely meet up with the other wild boars in the area and begin to reproduce. They begin to reproduce at the age of 8 to 10 months and can have as many as 14 piglets per litter. They reproduce twice a year; this makes them a very fast growing population. The wild boar of feral hog came from Europe and was introduced here as a domesticated animal. The wild boar although some look similar to domesticated pigs they are different, their snouts are longer and they develop two sets of tusks. These tusks grow to be very large and can be very sharp; they have one set of two on the bottom jaw and another set on the top jaw. If they get a hold of flesh they will tear it up very fast and can be deadly. Their hair is also longer and wire like, they also have different color and shape patterns in their hair. The wild boar will root around in the ground to eat small grubs and worms and whatever else they find in the ground. They will even eat eggs of birds and animals that lay their eggs on the ground. Being an opportunistic animal they will eat almost anything.