eric and his rtv said:
I don't understand what they problem with him is -- why not just let him live and enjoy watching his visits on the camera?
Eric,
Hogs are non-native species that do terrible damage to the habitat. They breed about twice a year and there numbers can double almost yearly. Once established in an area, they are impossible to get rid of. For farmers, they can cause thousands of dollars in damage. For ranchers, they will destroy a pasture by digging up the ground. I've lost trees to them digging up around the rootball of some oaks. I've had areas of pasture that were turned into huge dirt clods. They will even dig out flower gardens next to homes. I killed one sow 25 feet from my front door!!! They will become fairly bold if left alone.
Unlike deer, or any other big game species, these are pests that just happen to taste good. They eat just about everything out there, so the other species are left with what's left after they have finished. Once mature, they have no preditors that can control their populations. Lions and coyotes won't mess with a mature hog, and getting a piglet away from it's mother is extremly rare and dificult. Momma hog will attack anything that threatens her babbies, and she's very good at it!!!!
Hogs are at the top of the food chain, and where there's one, there's always allot more. Jim has seen just the tip of the iceberg. That hog has parents somwhere, but also lots of brothers and sisters. In a year, he'll probaby have them all visiting him too!!!!
We don't kill every one we see. Usually if it's raining out, muddy out or we have a freezer full of meat, we just let them be. We've sat out and watched them feed and tear up our land for the simple enjoyment of it. Hogs are very vocal and aggressive towards each other. In a head of 20 to 30, there will always be at least two or more that are fighting over something. You can hear them easily from 200 yards away, and the kids just laugh like crazy when it happens.
In some areas around here, it's not uncommon for a trapper to set up a large trap and catch two dozen in a night. That doesn't put a dent in the populations, but something has to be done to cut down on the damage they cause. Once you have a field destroyed by them, you will wish that you shot every one that you could have.
Eddie
This is the first time I've seen a feral pig on my place, ever. Unless this is another neighbor's pig that got out of it's pen, I may just be doing some early evening hunting. I think if it was a domestic pig, it would have come out in the daylight instead of waiting just until after dark. This timeframe makes me think this is a wild pig.
