Yesterday afternoon I encountered wild boars while traveling between McAllen,TX and Laredo. I saw two of them about 10 miles apart. One was quite large, maybe 200lbs... the other looked half that size. Unfortunately, both were dead along the roadside. I had no idea wild hogs roamed this scrubby, arid region.
Strange roadkill
- Thread starter aristotle
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There are two kinds of wild hog in Texas that I know of. There are the decendents of Russian/European wild pig and mixes with feral domestic hogs. There is also a javelina, a native, at least I think it is, hog.
Wild feral/boar mixes are all over the south and are a very big problem. They cause a lot of crop damage and often harm people. They are becoming a problem in more northern states too, like Michigan. Couple of links below.
The Collared Peccary - Javelina - DesertUSA
FACTS ON FERAL HOGS
Wild feral/boar mixes are all over the south and are a very big problem. They cause a lot of crop damage and often harm people. They are becoming a problem in more northern states too, like Michigan. Couple of links below.
The Collared Peccary - Javelina - DesertUSA
FACTS ON FERAL HOGS
More info on feral hogs:
Feral pigs are tearing up the landscape, killing wildlife and pets, and damaging farm crops and wildlife habitat in 40 states, including Michigan. Here are some facts about feral hogs:
• Pigs are native to Europe. Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto imported the animals for food in 1539.
• There are between 3,000 and 5,000 feral hogs in Michigan.
• Texas has about 3 million feral hogs, the most of any state. The state pays people $7 per head to kill the animals.
• The Michigan Legislature last year killed legislation to allow anyone with a hunting license to shoot feral hogs. Currently, hunting of feral hogs is permitted in 63 counties, including all of West Michigan.
• A feral hog killed a deer hunter in Texas in 1996.
• Feral hogs carry 13 different diseases that threaten human health and wildlife, including brucellosis, pseudorabies, tuberculosis, bubonic plague, tularemia, anthrax and trichinosis.
• It's safe to eat meat from feral hogs, provided it is cooked to 170 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Michigan residents who see or shoot a feral hog are asked to report it by sending an email to [email protected].
On the Web: www.michigan.gov/dnr; National Invasive Species Information Center
Feral pigs are tearing up the landscape, killing wildlife and pets, and damaging farm crops and wildlife habitat in 40 states, including Michigan. Here are some facts about feral hogs:
• Pigs are native to Europe. Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto imported the animals for food in 1539.
• There are between 3,000 and 5,000 feral hogs in Michigan.
• Texas has about 3 million feral hogs, the most of any state. The state pays people $7 per head to kill the animals.
• The Michigan Legislature last year killed legislation to allow anyone with a hunting license to shoot feral hogs. Currently, hunting of feral hogs is permitted in 63 counties, including all of West Michigan.
• A feral hog killed a deer hunter in Texas in 1996.
• Feral hogs carry 13 different diseases that threaten human health and wildlife, including brucellosis, pseudorabies, tuberculosis, bubonic plague, tularemia, anthrax and trichinosis.
• It's safe to eat meat from feral hogs, provided it is cooked to 170 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Michigan residents who see or shoot a feral hog are asked to report it by sending an email to [email protected].
On the Web: www.michigan.gov/dnr; National Invasive Species Information Center
If the javelinas weigh only 40-50lbs, then the larger one I saw might have been bloated and swollen from lying dead in the heat of the sun. Decomposition does weird things. With some 3,000,000 wild hogs in Texas, and a bounty of $7 per head, hunters should bring their numbers under control. I wouldn't want to abandon my vehicle on some desolate stretch of Texas backroads only to walk upon a pack of wild hogs. Did you see the hogs vs human scene in one of the Hannibal Lecter movies?
That $7 bounty has had no effect on the hog population in Texas. They are very had to hunt and access to land to hunt is a problem in Texas as well.
No, I did not see any of the Lecter movies, other than Silence of the Lambs. I missed that scene.
Those hogs you saw could have been feral mixes. They can get HUGE!!
No, I did not see any of the Lecter movies, other than Silence of the Lambs. I missed that scene.
Those hogs you saw could have been feral mixes. They can get HUGE!!