Where did Wild Hogs come from?
There are several different events in our history that has brought us to the epidemic of the Wild Hog invasion we now have. Currently there are several different types of pigs such as Feral Swine, Hybrid Wild Hogs and Eurasian Wild Boar.
Let’s Start at the Beginning with Feral Swine
If you have time for a history lesson, here we go! Domestic Hogs were first brought over to America in the 16th Century. It all began when Queen Isabella’s insisted that Christopher Columbus took eight pigs on his voyage to Cuba in 1493. What really kicked it off was when Hernando De Soto, a Spanish Explorer made the journey to what would be Tampa Bay, FL in 1539. De Soto, dubbed the “Father of the American Pork Industry”, stopped by Cuba on the way and picked up 13 Domestic Hogs to have them as a traveling food source as they explored southeast America. Not only did they use the hogs for fresh meat but as Salt Pork and Preserved Pork. During their exploration over 3,000 miles some hogs escaped, some stolen and traded to Native American Indians. It was common practice for Native American Indians to allow the hogs they acquired to roam free in the wild. Excluding the hogs that escaped and those that were traded, at the conclusion of Hernando De Soto’s journey it is said that the number of hogs in their possession surpassed over 700 head of swine. It is without a doubt that most of the feral swine that are in Southeastern United States have come from De Soto’s entourage as well as other later explorers such as Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, Juan de Oñate, Pierre de Iberville, Fernando del Bosque, Rene-Robert Cavelier Sieur de La Salle, and Sir Walter Raleigh. Escapee hogs from all the various expeditions and settlements grew rapidly allowing feral hogs to establish their home turf in the Southeast.
Introduction of True Eurasian Wild Boar
Let’s fast forward a few hundred years. Completely different from how Feral Swine were established in America, True Eurasion Wild Boar were brought over for sport hunting in the 1800’s. One of the first attempts to contain the beasts where in New Hampshire in 1890. The first batch consisted of 13 Wild Boar from Germany released in a 23,500 acre enclosure in Sullivan County. Either they underestimated the beasts or they just made a stupid mistake and did not inspect or secure the enclosure. Some of the Boar escaped, even though hunted down and killed, some still got away. they tried 2 more stockings before figuring out they couldn’t contain the beasts. Some hogs were witnessed getting into Vermont at the time.
In 1902 another preserve figured they’d give it a shot. They released about 20 Wild Boar in a 8,000 acre estate in Hamilton, New York. Most escaped within 6 years and settled in the William C. Whitney Wilderness Area. The remaining Boar lasted in the wild for about 20 years before all being killed.
The most successful game preserve was in Graham County, North Carolina. 13 Wild Boar were released into 2 Fenced Game Preserves in Hooper Bald, Graham County. They did the best keeping them in the enclosures for 10 years. Unfortunately they got a little greedy and decided to organize a large hunt, having too many people enter the enclosures. That made the Wild Boar step up their efforts to get the heck out of the enclosures! The Wild Boar that escaped settled in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. in 1924 they captured about a dozen Wild Boar from Hooper Bald and shipped them to California. They were released somewhere between Carmel Valley and Los Padres National Forest. Shortly after the hybrid Boar were used as breeders in California as well as several other states in the Southeast.
The Different Types of Wild Hogs
Feral Swine – Larger ears, shorter snouts, larger hams then shoulders and carry most weight in the rear of the hog. They have very short hair and the “razorback” is not noticeable.
Hybrid Hog – A mix of Feral Swine and True Eurasian Wild Boar. Medium sized ears, longer snout, carries their weight equally front and rear of hog. They have some long hair and a 4-5″ longer hair on their back to resemble somewhat of the “razorback”.
Eurasian Wild Boar – Not very common but there are some pockets of Wild Hogs in America that carry some of the purest strain of true Eurasian Wild Boar. They have small ears, long snouts, long thick hair and their back has 8-10″ long course hair that is a very distinguished razorback. They carry most of their weight in their front shoulders and taper down to smaller hams and reared.
