Unwelcome Invaders: Wild Pigs Pose a Serious New Threat to Idaho

Exotic species threatens agriculture, the environment and wildlife

There has been a growing problem in central Oregon from wild pigs and now they are showing up in Idaho. This is a real threat to the ecology of Idaho and should be taken very seriously by the Idaho Fish and Game.

Unwelcome Invaders: Wild Pigs Pose a Serious New Threat to Idaho | Exotic species threatens agriculture, the environment and wildlife.
by Deanna Darr – Boise Weekly

107 thoughts on “Unwelcome Invaders: Wild Pigs Pose a Serious New Threat to Idaho

  1. If Idaho thinks gray wolves are a big problem to Idaho, wait until the hogs show up if they haven’t already. Hogs cause more damage than wolves ever will.

  2. Discovery channel did a show a few weeks back called pig bomb Showing what these feral pigs destroy and the huge spread of them across the US.
    We need to start a group to stop people from killing these poor innocent little animals! I can’t believe people shoot poor little pigs just living naturally! Maybe a bunch of law suits will help save them from the big bad hunters who want to kill them. They need to thrive so the Wolves have more to eat!

    1. Is there a way to use a contraceptive or something on the pigs so they do not need to be killed? Perhaps we could relocate them to another state. If we radio collar one, it may lead us to the rest of them. Once located we could just spay/neuter them. Would be much more humane IMO…

      1. Humane or not, they need to be gotten rid of as soon as
        possible for they are NOT natural to this North American landscape.

      2. Actually, Wildlife Services is actively trying to reduce wild pages in Texas and other places. It’s one of the few good things they do.

        In fact the originally posted article quotes Wildlife Services.

    2. Good Grief! I say lets hunnt these pigs and get rid of them
      since they are NOT natural the the North American landscape.

      1. Who decides what’s “natural” and “native” wildlife? Everything originated from a single celled organism, so who are we as humans to tell the pigs whether or not they are an invasive species or not?

      2. I say let the pigs stay, so the predators can eat them. I can tell you right now, humans won’t be able to control wild pigs once they end up in your state. Look at places like Florida and Texas just to name 2 states where pigs are wreaking havoc.

      3. People may oppose the killing of wild pigs if they decide they are fun to shoot. Then they could be like pheasants or other game birds.

      4. I’m all for killing them. Dangerous, destructive, pest species…and tasty.

        I’ll never understand the mentality that doesn’t allow for the killing of animals at all.

      5. ProWolf in WY,

        I actually found an anti-Wildlife Services web page because those who put it up didn’t want feral pigs killed; and going after feral pigs is one of the few good things I think USDA Wildlife Services does.

  3. Maybe we finally have a moving mammalian target that will keep Toby Bridges et al occupied and satisfy the urge to just go out and kill some animals that ‘ shouldn’t be there’ illegally imported from Oregon , Porkus irremotus or something …so long as they don’t waste any of the meat.

    Lock and load , Toby.

    Perhaps Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife and the other hunting clubs can make themselves useful here , in lieu of their ire for wolves. Si, como no ?

    1. They have spread so fast so far it’s beyond control now! Hence the “Pig Bomb”. They cannot even shoot, trap ect enough to even keep them in check including the Gov’t guys. Just google it and see the spread of them. The other problem is they are breed with Russian wild Boars, which run in packs. They let Hunters dogs get 1 and the rest run. Before they would stay and fight and hunters could shoot a lot more.
      This is the problem with states like TexASS allowing non native hunting or high fence operations! It’s bound to cause these type problems! This is going to be one of the biggest Wildlife problems ever!

      1. It was in the past after settlers lost some of their livestock. They were had a devastating affect on the environment long before the whole country was completely inhabited by European settlers.

  4. I don’t know, maybe this is a good thing for the hunters who cry wolf. This will give wolves another different diet that would be a little easier to kill. I am all for pigs as I worked with a few wild ones during my internship, but, although it may not satisfy the hunger for a large pack, it would help, and it would help in possibly lessening the amount that are killed. This would also be another food source for cougars. The misconception that many people have of pigs is that they are one of the most filthy animals on the planet, but that is completely not true. The only realistic views on pigs is that are filthy eaters, and that is very true. I once dated a woman who was a zookeeper, and the pigs would push her around not waiting for her to drop the food on the ground, but once she dropped it, the pigs started feeding without hesitating on any other apsect. Some animals make sure the surroundings are safe for them to feed, but not pigs; they go after the food right away. I know that wild pigs are not the same in behavior to domesticated ones, but they have pretty much similar overall species behaviors, as do just about other species.

    Pigs are also very social to humans. I have never had or will ever take in as a pet a exotic animal, but they are loyal and social to their human companions. I do not know much about pigs, but these are the ones I have had the opportunity to observe.

    1. Pigs and wolves must coexist in the Russian far east. I wonder how often wolves prey on them. I would bet there is much less dangerous prey to be had if you’re a wolf.

      1. I am not saying it would be easy for pigs to be killed by wolves, because they can pack some sort of punch along the way. I don’t want to see any animal be killed by another, but if it serves for one’s survival, and if it can help deteriate the negative notions towards wolves, then it is a good thing.

    2. If pigs get set in idaho shit will hit the fan! We have had feral pigs here I’ve shot em on Eagle Island back in the 80s on Carlsons ranch. But to let them come back and resablish will be devastating.

  5. The irony is that wolves will not be allowed to prey on pigs if the pigs remain anywhere near the location that they are being seen. The area around CJ Strike Reaervoir is so filled with cattle that thy wouldn’t last 10 minutes. The same for most any other place where pigs would likely gain a foothold.

    I don’t think that wolves will ever even see a pig.

    1. ken: Isn’t that the same for some elk? I read somewhere that elk are moving closer to ranch areas where hunting is prohibited, but would that mean that the ranchers are able to chase off the wolves with some kine of action that will push the wolves away from the area where the livestock are at?

  6. This is really sad to hear of how these wild pigs are now in
    Idaho. Hope they never reach Yellowstone!!! These
    freaking wild pigs are such a danger to the environment.
    Where’s a hunter when you need them.

  7. This story is about a year late. From what I have seen and heard the got these animals under control early last summer. I got a message about them last May and went right down there to help kill them off. After talking to farmers, Idaho dept of Ag and staff with fish and game they thought they had killed the last one off. Pigs are about the worst thing that could happen to Idaho. And trying to use a contraseptive to stop them is a joke just do some reading about them they are primarily active at night and stay in really thick brush during the day. They are very skiddish around humans and can be almost impossible to hunt without the use of bait or hounds. I don’t think wolves or cougar would select for them when they can kill deer, elk, sheep and calves much easier. The only way to stop pigs is find them early and kill them all with every means possible or the will explode everywhere.

    1. ” The only way to stop pigs is to find them early and kill them all with every means possible”

      Hilljack, Do Soooo Agree!!!

      If this is true then Great! These pigs need to be exterminated here in the states for they sooooo destroy everything bigtime!!!

      1. Kayla: Have you read about the Rwanda genocides? You sound like the leader of the Hutu group.

      2. Phil, am offended by your comments. Guess since you said
        this then you are NO FRIEND of the environment for you do
        NOT know what these wild pigs do to the nautral landscape.
        How many times do all the exotics become a plague on the
        natural environment. Do Some Research!!!

  8. I have seen feral hogs in a number of locations, including the Texas coast and more recently near Tucson, Ariz. They are rambunctious, to say the least.

  9. Kayla: You want to kill all wild pigs early and often. I did not say to preserve all non-native pigs, I was just kind of sickened at the way you want them killed.

    1. Yes I want these Non-Native Pigs killed. All Exotics take
      over and ruin the natural landscapes. Iif you disagree with
      this then do some research. Sooner they are elimanted off
      of the landscape then better it will be for all the other
      native wildlife and birdlife, etc. Also to add that one will
      have to get rid of them somehow. if someone wants these
      pigs to remain then that person is NOT NOT NOT a friend of
      the North American landscape, North American Wildlife and
      Birdlife in any sort of way. Again Do Some Research ! How
      much of the time these exotics ruin the natural landscape
      and wildlife – birdlife.

      1. Kayla: I am not for non-native species. There are positives, but the negatives are abundant to the positives. I just do not like the way you phrased on how and why to kill them. You sounded like you wanted a genocidal killing of the wild pigs. How bout this? Instead of having a mass-slaughter on the pigs, create as little. or no protection to the pigs to where predators can have as much of an opportunity at killing them for food as possible. How do you do this? I do not have a clue, because I do not live in that area and did not see any wild pigs when I had been there. There are many biologists in the region, so there should be no problem for them to put their heads together and figure something out.

      2. Phil, if you do not want them killed off then how else are
        you going to get rid of them and save the natural
        landscape. If these pigs are not taken care of then how
        much will this help in destoying the natural landscape.
        Exotics are not a friend of the environment in any sort of
        way. Guess since you do not want these pigs to be
        eliminated then you are FOR FOR various species of
        indigenoous plants, wildlife, and birdlife to become
        eliminated because of these pigs which means then you are
        NO friend of the environment. That what will happen if
        these pigs remain. Again do think that this is one
        opportunity where hunters and environmentalists can come
        together for the sake of the natural health of our North
        American Landscape.

    2. And to add, I see this is onetime where Hunters and true
      people wh care for the land can work together. Personally I
      have NOOOO LOVE for these Non- Native Wild Pigs.

      1. “I personally have NOOOO LOVE for these Non-Native Wild Pigs.” Really? It doesn’t show. Just kidding Kayla.

      2. Kayla: I gave you one form of reason as to how we can eliminate the non-native wild pigs, or at least reduce their numbers.

  10. jon: Not just Florida and Texas, but how bout Alabama and Arkansas? Just like deer in most places, wild pigs will not be controlled by humans.

    1. There are quite a few states with a wild pig problem Phil. People are kidding themselves if they think they are going to kill every wild pig in their state.

      1. That is just not possible jon. There is no way all wild pigs can be killed.

        Kayla: Wild pigs were introduced to America for hunting purposes, so it was basically some hunters who are to be blamed for the problem.

      2. Have to disagree Phil. probably the root lies in some pigs
        escaping from our human society and becoming feral and
        wild. Then the states where they escaped, refused to deal
        with the problem. Have heard and seen photos of the
        problem that these pigs do in Appalachia with rooting up
        the soil and landscape and the destruction they cause.

  11. ++For the last several years, the department, along with USDA Wildlife Services and the help of some of the private landowners, has been trapping pigs, but the extent of the population is still widely unknown since much of the activity is on private land and not all landowners have been willing to take part in the effort++

    My take? This statement kind of sums up the whole situation and may be in some part, why attempts in the past, in other parts of the country, have failed miserably to get a handle on this problem.

    I can recall talk of feral pigs running around in the woodlands of VA where I grew up back in the 60’s. Watched a guy shot a feral pig off his balcony in Texas (and this little piggie weighed in around 300 lbs.) in the early 80’s when I lived there and he mentioned then, it was a “growing” problem around his area.

    The east and the midwest (and the west coast) have been on a campaign over the last half century to eradicate (or “manage” to death) anything that resembled a predator – mountain lion, bear, wolves, coyotes and yes even gators – because of THEIR potential threat to “mankind” yet those same predators realistically, could of had an impact (if not a built in control) on feral pig populations that have now exploded across many of those areas (states) today.

  12. Kayla and Phil.It was probably both; some were brought over to hunt and other either escaped or were set loose.There was a piece on 60 Minutes about them not to long ago and they can cause alot of damage by their digging/stomping .

    1. Do agree Rita a bunch on your post. Yes these pigs do
      cause alot of damage by their digging and stomping. I have
      seen similar things myself which is the reason I am against
      these exotic wild pigs.

  13. Kayla: States with a large wild pig problem have understood the situation for a while now. They are not ignoring the problem, instead mandating hunting on them. Hunting will not work as it has not worked in Europe, Africa, etc. The best possible solution is to let predators predate on the wild pigs. It is pretty successful in Africa where cheetahs, lions, leopards and such are taking what they can for food consumption, and the wild boar (wardhog) in Africa are much stronger and powerful then the wild invasive pigs we have in this country.

    1. Phil, you say hunting won’t work. I betcha it could. if a state
      really wanted to get rid of this exotic then they could put a
      bounty on the wild pig. And in these hard economic times,
      they would be taken care of. But for one to get the bounty,
      then the pig’s hide would have to be produced. This bounty
      would ONLY be for these exotic wild pigs for the sake of
      saving the natural native landscape, wildlife, and birdlife.

      1. Kayla: A good example of it not working is Arkansas. Wolves were killed in the manner you are talking about in the 20s and 30s of last century, but it was easier towards wolves because wolves are not that confrontational to humans.

      2. Have to disagree with you Phil Bigtime! I think hunting
        could work espicelly if a state did put on a bounty on these
        wild pigs in these hard economic times.

      3. Think of the possibilities Kayla, maybe they can get Palinesque and throw in a few extra bucks for every snout produced! That would be soooo awesome

      4. Good point Kayla although Texas hasen’t been able to solve the problem:

        ++I betcha it could. if a state
        really wanted to get rid of this exotic then they could put a
        bounty on the wild pig. And in these hard economic times,
        they would be taken care of++

        Problem with that is the tip of the “iceberg” senerio – what feral pigs are really capable of doing, as they multiply better than rabbits across the landscape – Its yet to be felt out here til recently and will be ignored til ag and ranch lifestyles suddenly start “feeling” those effects and start whining and moaning to local politicians.
        I’m thinking the feral pig problem is gonna be a hell of a lot harder to address than a few wolves, here and there, on the landscape……………

    2. Warthogs are kept in ecological balcance in Africa because they are native there. Warthogs are not ruining the environment and devasting other species. There is no ecological balance possible with non-native feral pigs. Even if predators here ate them, and that’s a big if, they wouldn’t do so enough to stop the population from increasing.

  14. Pigs were brought by the spanish as a basic food source, and they escaped and became wild. Not as a sport specie as someone suggested. No more.so than a cow was released as a hunted animal. They have since mixed with russian boars that were brought in early 20 Centuryr for hunting. But pigs were not brought here as a sport hunt. No more than horses or cows, which they also brought. Peccaries are only native.pig

  15. freeanclear: Directly from Fish and Wildife “Populations have also been introduced in some parts of the world, most notably the Americas and Australasia; principally for hunting.” The link was not posting on here for some reason.

  16. Kayla: It is ok to disagree, but history shows that it has not worked. Also, you have to look at a past comment I posted in that letting predators like wolves take them on as food will not only benefit sustaining their populations, but will in the long-term possibly benefit elk and hunters who have issues with wolves predating on elk. It will still occur, but how do we know it will occur as often now that wolves have another food source?

    1. Yes it is okay to Disagree! And so let’s end it with that we just disagree on the matter. Phil, even though we Disagree, do wish you the best!

    2. Kayla,

      I have to ask… Just what do you actually know about wolves and their behavior and prey preferences? I think it’s not the worst idea to imagine that wolves would be a good predator for these feral pigs but I think you might want to tell the wolves about that idea before you start planning on them killing and eating this species. Sure they seem like opportunist predators but if they don’t eat much moose, or deer or bighorn sheep, what makes you think they will go for the pigs? Wolves, generally, prey on elk – their #1 preference. So how do you convince them to change their diet? Remove all the elk? Or tell they can’t eat elk anymore until they eat all the feral pigs? Or maybe you could put wolves where the pigs are and tell them that they can’t have any elk until they eat all the pigs? Maybe pigs aren’t a healthy dietary choice for wolves…

      Just wondering?

      1. Doing some looking around, it seems there are many species of dog, that are actually allergic to pork. Many vets don’t recommend feeding pork to most dogs, I wonder how wolves would handle pork..

      2. Salle, in this case we have clear evidence from areas where wild boars are native to the area along with wolves. I.E. Russia and some other areas in Europe. As the current version of wikipedia notes along with a citation of its source, “In some areas of the former Soviet Union, a single wolf pack can consume an average of 50–80 wild boars annually.”
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_boar#cite_note-Graves-42

        Now its true that they don’t ordinarily go after full grown adults as often as they target piglets, but the predation still helps keeps the feral pigs or wild boars under control.

        Incidentally as long as the states don’t end up reducing the numbers of predators (specifically grizzlies and gray wolves) in the immediate Yellowstone area much, I don’t see feral pigs being a major issue there even if they reach the area.

        Along with wolves, both black and grizzly bears will go after feral pigs, with grizzly bears presumably willing to go after larger animals. The largest male boars are going to more often left alone and not targeted, but the rest of the population being sufficiently hit by predation keeps the population under control and limits any serious environmental problems they could cause. (Other smaller predators will go after the younger pigs to a degree at least, with cougers potentially going after somewhat larger ones although I am not very sure of the details in that case.)

      3. My earlier comment was in response to Save Bears’ comment about dogs and pork… When I posted it, your comment showed up.

        That sounds interesting but what other prey options are there in that region where they do actually kill/eat the wild pigs? I wonder if that’s the most available prey base.

        Still, I think that on this continent, the wolves are likely to stick with the elk diet.

        But then, folks like Ron Gillette can relax, after – as he likes to claim – all the elk are eaten up by the wolves there will be plenty of those wild pigs to eat before they start eating each other and those little girls waiting for he school bus in the dark.

        Then again, if the education czar of Idaho has his way, there won’t be any little girls out waiting for a school bus in the dark because there won’t be any schools or buses!

      4. I have hunted wild pig in a couple of different states, Mississippi and Texas and they are not as easy to hunt as one might think, but if you do get one, they are quite good, especially BBQ’d. I would think this is one species, that nobody would complain about hunters wiping out, they are very damaging to many different crops, in addition to destroying steam side habitat…

      1. Ralph – interesting video. Are those red wolves from the east coast? Quite a bit smaller than their western and northern cousins?

      2. Watching things like this take place is saddening, but it’s the way of life for wildlife. Ralph: The wild pigs in the Northern Rocky Mountain region, are they similar in size to the ones shown in the video? It took so long because there were only two wolves involved, in my opinion it may have been easier with a normal sized pack.

      3. I’m not sure where the video was taken. Wolves are generalist predators and learn (have to learn) how to attack new kinds of prey.

        The advantage wolves have is that they form packs and engage in cooperative hunting. The individual wolves have to learn how to hunt and so does the pack as it encounters new prey.

      4. The video says it’s in Russia. My guess it’s in a penned area where there are the wolves and hogs. There are close up shots of wolf pups. And two boars that are not acting wild. A pathetic video. But the internet is full of this kind of stuff.

  17. Huh, that link doesn’t work. I think the video is very informative, wolves often get their butts kicked while trying to get food and this is a good example, of many. Even elk are successful at injuring wolves during predation events which average out to something like 1 in nine attempts being successful.

    Wild boars are grisly characters. The first time I actually saw one in the wild was up on the Mogollon rim in Arizona. I was with a friend from Germany who, upon seeing it insisted that we get back into the vehicle immediately. We sat and watched as it approached the vehicle, circled it a few times and trotted off into the woods. My friend, all the while, told me tales of them in Germany, back in the 1940s, and how they were dangerous and could possibly bite through the tires, to say nothing of the injuries they can cause. She said that there was a large-scale effort to eliminate them in Europe, not sure of the results for the entire region… I recall that she said that villages would try to eliminate them by having all the villagers go out to the edge of a defined circle around the village and walk toward the village center and sort of herd them into the center then kill them and anything else that was either edible or a nuisance. I know that there is a town in Ohio that still carries out this practice, or did into the 1980s.

      1. Javelina (the collared peccary) are native to South and Central America. They expanded on their own into the United States in the last 80-100 years. They are not large, nor very dangerous. They are about 45 to 70 pounds as adults. Sometimes they run toward people, causing a fright, but the usual reason is that they don’t see very well.

        Their recent and non-assisted arrival kind of puts them in the margins of native/non-native invasive category.

    1. Salle – my first memory of wild pigs came from this classic movie (and then of course Animal House hit theaters a few years later 🙂 yearshttp://www.moviesunlimited.com/musite/product.asp?sku=D67188&gclid=COTu6ZmVp6cCFUVqKgodZGEsBg

    2. Salle: They may grizzly to you, but I was up close to one who was rescued in a sacntuary, and, although they may not have the “attraction” in looks, I saw them as respected and responsive creatures. When I say responsive I mean cooperative to the humans they know.

      1. Well, I think it looked pretty grisly, and while I was watching it I was being told how mean that they can be. I’m sure she didn’t know how many species or subspecies there are or what they are but she did call it a javolina, whether it really was or not.

        However, I do know that pigs, in general, are rather intelligent animals, even the domestic ones. I can imagine that they would be amiable to those who care for them. Maybe that is one reason they are so hard to hunt, trap, etc..

        As far as what the actual species I saw in AZ was, it was about 70lbs or so and had tusks, razorback sort of looking… I’ll never forget what it looked like or the feeling I had about it at the time. It was not a fear but some kind of excitement that I wasn’t familiar with at the time. I know that feeling better now, it comes whenever I experience something like seeing a wolf in the wild for the first time,or being touched by one, or the first time I saw a grizzly bear in the wild… an awesome experience was at hand is what happened on each of those occasions, including seeing that wild boar.

        So given their level of intellect I can see that pigs, feral in this case, would be a challenge for WS.

  18. Folks should note there are feral pigs and there are wild boar. Where wild boar are native (and there are many species of them), their presence is fine.

    Of course, neither are native to Idaho.

    1. Ralph, the ONLY native pig to North America is the javalina/peccary of the SW. All other pigs are feral/russian crosses for the most part. Feral pigs began their wild populations with the arrival of the Spanish explorers. In the early 20th century, a few boat loads of russian boar from Germany we imported to “improve” the blood lines of hunted pig populations in the SE and California.

      Feral sows can produce up to 3 litters of upt to 12 piglets each year (3×12=36!), year after year. Piglets would be very vulnerable to wolves but adult pigs are not the vulnerable prey animal that deer and elk can be. Feral pigs are omnivores and can act in a predatory manner, attacking new fawns and elk caves, ground nesting birds, reptiles (they love eating snakes, even rattlers) and anything else they can reach including carrion. In that context, they will effectively compete for carrion, nuts, tubers, fruit and the other listed prey with your existing animal populations. They produce tusks ranging to 3″ that can be very effective weapons. Having seen them in action while being hunted with trained dog packs I think it would be reasonable to say that an adult pig would not be the prey of preference for a wolf pack although I am sure that wolves could prevail, just at greater risk than with other prey. The hide on an old boar over the neck and shoulders can be 3″ thick, like a kevlar shield that prevents tusks and canine teeth from doing damage and even can stop a light bullet.

      Feral pigs are very difficult to fence out, they are an absolute terror to riparian areas, jack up the ecoli counts in natural water sources, destroy crops, displace other animal popultions and are tough to kill. If they are coming to your town, you are in trouble. In California you can hunt them 365 days a year, take 1 and have 1 in possesion on any given day, and there is no limit on tags. That said, the population is growing. In some cases I have seen depredation permits issued that resulting in dump truck loads of pigs being killed in ag areas, to no real effective long term reduction in populations. They are every bit the mammalian equivalent of the cockroach….but they are good to eat….

  19. SB – the people having to deal with feral pigs in their neighborhoods would probably have a difference of opinion regarding your defination of “not easy to hunt”
    And personally, I wouldn’t touch the meat with a ten foot fork – hello ? Trichinosis…………. 8 hours in an oven a 275, maybe.

    1. Well Nancy,

      I don’t hunt in towns, so I would not know how town pigs are, as far as eating it, I am sure I have eaten far worse than pig and am still here…of course I don’t quite worry about meat bore diseases like many do..

      1. Didn’t think you did SB – but I’m sure there’s a really fine line now in some parts of the country given their populations, when it comes to “hunting” wild pig. A step out the door with a gun and a flashlight kind of hunting, from the sounds of it.

  20. Is this the same government group SB, loosely related (who calms the nerves and picks up the pieces) everytime there’s an outbreak recorded with the FDA?

    1. The Centers for Disease Control…Nancy, you eat what you want and I will eat what I want, sound fair?, if I die, due to my eating habits, then you won’t have to put up with my opinions any longer..

      1. Nancy,

        I do not think that you have ever been on the “far side of the World”. God only knows what I have eaten, llamas, dog, creepy crawlies from the sea. Some of my favorite times are grazing on the streets of Bangkok, Lhasa, Tibet, Mexican Villages or Singapore. I remember a eating several evenings in a small restaurant in Beijing where I would order not off the menu but what I saw going to other tables. It was one dollar a plate and I order eight or nine plates that evening not knowing what I was eating. There is nothing better than pigging on cheap Chinese food on a humid evening in the middle of Beijing and drinking beer.

        The only time I said no was on the Tibetan plateau, we were at an intersection, south to Katmandu, east to Mount Everest, West to Mount Kailash and north to Lhasa. The place was filthy. I also have said no to fermented mare’s milk and yak butter.

      2. Oh come on SB, I’d miss your opinions………….

        FYI Phil – been a vegetarian for a few years 🙂

      3. Elk,

        In my travels around the world, I am sure i would have starved to death if I worried or asked what I was eating every time, there have been some real interesting meals in many little villages along the way!

      4. sb, in some places of the world they eat dog and even rats. Have you ever ate dog or rats?

      5. Jon,

        I honestly don’t know…I am pretty sure I have had dog, but have no idea about rats, I don’t believe I was anywhere that they ate rats, but in areas of SE Asia, they eat quite a lot of dog..

  21. Been to Japan Elk, too young to recall the food though. Dad was military, West Point was my place of origin.

    1. Nancy, I have only been in the airport in Japan. Several months ago a 650 pound blue fin tuna was sold for $500,000 plus change. I do not think that I could afford to eat in Japan, let alone travel there. A interesting bit of trivia. What does Japan have more of than Montana? People and ………………………….grizzlies bears, there are more grizzlies in Japan than Montana believe of not.

    2. Nancy, what year West Point?

      I spent quite a lot of time in Japan many years ago, I met my first wife in Okinawa…and my Daughter is 1/2 Japanese…

      1. SB – I was born at West Point in 1951. Then Dad got stationed in Okinawa in 1953. My sister was born there.

        Elk – I seem to recall a discussion on here awhile back about grizzles in Japan. Didn’t realize they had more than Montana.

  22. The ONLY native pig to North America is the javalina/peccary of the SW. All other pigs are feral/russian crosses for the most part. Feral pigs began their wild populations with the arrival of the Spanish explorers. In the early 20th century, a few boat loads of russian boar from Germany we imported to “improve” the blood lines of hunted pig populations in the SE and California.

    Feral sows can produce up to 3 litters of upt to 12 piglets each year (3×12=36!), year after year. Piglets would be very vulnerable to wolves but adult pigs are not the vulnerable prey animal that deer and elk can be. Feral pigs are omnivores and can act in a predatory manner, attacking new fawns and elk caves, ground nesting birds, reptiles (they love eating snakes, even rattlers) and anything else they can reach including carrion. In that context, they will effectively compete for carrion, nuts, tubers, fruit and the other listed prey with your existing animal populations. They produce tusks ranging to 3″ that can be very effective weapons. Having seen them in action while being hunted with trained dog packs I think it would be reasonable to say that an adult pig would not be the prey of preference for a wolf pack although I am sure that wolves could prevail, just at greater risk than with other prey. The hide on an old boar over the neck and shoulders can be 3″ thick, like a kevlar shield that prevents tusks and canine teeth from doing damage and even can stop a light bullet.

    Feral pigs are very difficult to fence out, they are an absolute terror to riparian areas, jack up the ecoli counts in natural water sources, destroy crops, displace other animal popultions and are tough to kill. If they are coming to your town, you are in trouble. In California you can hunt them 365 days a year, take 1 and have 1 in possesion on any given day, and there is no limit on tags. That said, the population is growing. In some cases I have seen depredation permits issued that resulting in dump truck loads of pigs being killed in ag areas, to no real effective long term reduction in populations. They are every bit the mammalian equivalent of the cockroach….but they are good to eat….

  23. yHistory of Feral Pigs in AmericaDomestic pigs were introduced from Europe to the Americas by Spanish explorers. Over time, some pigs escaped or were intentionally released into the wild. Subsequently, free-ranging, feral populations established themselves on American soil. In 1893, 50 feral pigs from Germany’s Black Forest were released on a hunting preserve in New Hampshire’s Blue Mountains. Later, in 1910 and 1912, Russian wild boars were released on a North Carolina preserve near the Tennessee border. Russian wild boars were released again in 1925 near Monterey, California and a few years later on Santa Cruz Island. Some of these transplants escaped from the hunting preserves. Many of their offspring bred with feral descendants of domestic pig. I paraphrased, this is actual text.
    I find it interesting that you wouldn’t believe a thing that usfws or us dnt would say about the validity of wolf science or reimttoduction or the handling thereof but will quote there finding on a non native specie. Seems quite a carried use of the govt resources

  24. I’m all for an extensive elimination program. I’ve had the chance to see the damage these have done in south texas to herpetofauna in the region (declines in box turtles, smaller average sizes and higher mortality in most snake species, many more clutches of eggs raided) as well as the damage they do to the soil.

    You may not be able to eliminate them but if you make them KOS for park rangers, and launch elimination hunts regularly, you can damn sure control them. Request that any hunter out for deer or other game take any safe shot they have at hog, and let them leave the meat. Work with farmers and ranchers to trap them, and euthanize the trapped animals…

    You can get rid of them all probably but that’s no reason to not do what you can.

  25. Looks like THE opportunity for the folks from WS to do a job that would truly provide benefit to the wildlife community. Fire up that black helicopter and get to work.

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