There is an email making it’s way around the world regarding a giant huge hog killed in Texas. And although hog hunting in Texas is good because of the uncontrollable spread of feral hogs across the state, I’m confident that there are not any wild hogs in Texas that are THAT big. I’ve received a lot of questions about this animal over a short time, and for those not familiar with the story, the monster hog email reads like this:
“Here is a cute little Texas pig that was killed in the town of Cut-N-Shoot, Texas. We call them Piney Wood Rooter’s. There was a documentary on about a month ago about these PIGS growing up so rapidly in the US. They’re all over Georgia, Arkansas, Texas, Florida, and other states. Did you ever wonder what happens to those people that just leave home and disappear but their car is found out on a dirt road? Between bigfoot and these monsters, I think we know! Continue reading Killed in Texas?
Wild hogs, commonly referred to as feral hogs, are simple creatures. The key to hog hunting is to think like a hog. But before doing that, let’s learn a bit more about these clever critters. First, hogs are not native to North America. The first true pigs were brought to the United States by Hernando de Sota to the Atlantic Coast of Florida in 1539. The first Russian wild boars were brought into the Sullivan County, New Hampshire, in 1890 by a fellow named Austin Corbin. And thus, feral hogs in the USA were born.
When it comes to habitat, hogs can make it just about anywhere as long as water and some amount of cover are present. Wild pigs are found in many habitats from woodland, riparian, and marshes to even chaparral and open grasslands. Feral hogs are comfortable on flat to very steep terrain. They are quite mobile, despite they wear the name “pigs.” For the most part, wild hogs are most abundant in woodlands interspersed with grasslands.
Although adaptable in many ways, wild hogs are not everywhere. They do not tend to inhabit very dry areas such as deserts. Hogs also avoid high mountains with substantial winter snowfall. In addition, though they often wreak havoc with farmers and ranchers, wild pigs to not like intensive agricultural areas where screening cover is scarce. However, excellent hog hunting can be had near suitable habitat adjacent these agricultural areas.
Wild hogs are omnivorous and consume a wide variety of available foods, including both plant and animal matter. The feral hog diet is almost limitless, but for the most part their food includes acorns, grasses, forbs, berries, bulbs, tubers, invertebrates, reptiles, birds, eggs, and animal carcasses. Like many wild animals, their diet varies with the season. Wild pigs feed on grasses and forbs in the spring, mast and fruits in the summer and fall, and roots, tubers and invertebrates throughout the year.
As with all animals that are hunted, feral hog behavior tends to change as hog hunting pressure increases. Where hunting rarely occurs, wild pigs are active throughout the day, though they become less active in hot weather. With moderate hunting, hogs will bed up around sunrise and become active again in the late afternoon. When hog hunting pressure is very high wild hogs will only move and feed at night. Although rare, feral hogs will leave an area when hunting pressure becomes severe.
Feral hogs do a number on wildlife through habitat destruction and food competition with native animals. In addition to upland rooting, hogs make a mess of waterways through soil disturbance and hunters look for sign of these activities when out hog hunting. And if rooting up fields and destroying property is not enough, the wild hog population in Central Texas is also contributing a dominant share of bacteria into nearby waterways. Hogs, other wildlife and livestock comprise what’s referred to as “direct deposition,” which is estimated to comprise about 65 percent of the total pollutants that make it into the Leon River in Coryell County.
And dirty, bacteria-laden rivers and streams is one thing that Texans can live without. That’s part of the reason why Coryell County will took to the sky this February, hiring a helicopter and marksman to go on a three-day aerial feral hog hunt over ranches along the river. Coryell County Judge John Firth said, “That’s why the feral hog issue ties into recent research conducted along the river. So to the degree that we can get the feral hog issue under control, we hope to also be able to lower the bacteria level in the Leon River.”
Aerial hog hunting is typically carried out from a helicopter, which allows the pilot to sit over hoggy-looking areas to bust critters from the brush. A helicopter also allows the pilot to keep the shooter in prime position for fleeing feral hogs. Most helicopter hog hunters use shotguns loaded with buckshot, and it is highly effective on running individuals and groups of hogs.
A reduction in the feral hog population in Coryell County through hunting and trapping is one part of fixing the Leon River, but other measures for cleaning up the Leon River will include repairs to home septic systems and adding buffer strips along riparian habitat to slow the flow of organic material into the river. It’s all in an effort by landowners and local governments to tackle the problem themselves–without the threat of morass of mandates and litigation that could stem from a federal environmental crackdown. And you thought hog hunting was just about fun and putting pork chops on the table. It’s a new world.
It can be tough for many hunters to find a place to hunt. I know this first hand having grown up in the country, but now living in the city. It’s just not as easy as it used to be to get outdoors and go hog hunting. But for those without land—or on a budget—some great hunting opportunities can be found on federal or state-owned lands. A top-notch hog hunting hot spot in the state of Texas is Mad Island Wildlife Management Area (WMA). It is primarily coastal marsh and plains as is covered up with feral hogs.
Last year, a buddy and I were picked for a feral hog hunt at Mad Island WMA. It’s one of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s special permits hunts. We had hunted this property, but were pumped up about it nonetheless. Though we are seasoned hog hunters by anyone’s measure, we did not know quite what to expect in this coastal environment. We just knew that pas success rates were very high.
The flat terrain worried us because a hog’s sense of smell is very good. Big, mature trees are lacking, so no climbing to get the advantage that elevation offers. The WMA did provide 12 foot tripods, so luckily for us that wild pigs have poor eyesight. These vantage points provided great lookout locations about the 3 and 4 foot tall vegetation that dominated Mad Island.
Hog hunting at Mad Island WMA is awesome! We ended up taking 6 hogs over the hunt period, and a few got away. The biologists on staff know how to run the hunts and it was first rate. This is not the easiest place to get drawn for public hunting, but no place is. And from what we could tell, it looks like Mad Island should provide some excellent duck hunting opportunities too.
If you are looking for one a hog hunting contest taking place in Texas then you are in luck! It’s that time for the second Annual Wild Hog Hunting Tournament. It will be held in Lone Oak, Texas during March 18th, 19th, 20th 2011. Contestants will hunt their own places and bring the best 5 hogs to be weighed in and the teams with the top three weights. First place will win 50%, second place will pull 30%, and third place will take home 20% of prize money.
Their will also be an optional Big Hog Jackpot associated with the contest that will pay out 100%. You can have a 1 to 4 man gun team or a 2 to 4 man dog team. Entry fee is $50.00 per man and optional big hog entry fee is $50.00 per team. Tournament check in will be at 4163 CR 3132 Lone Oak, TX 75453 by the Sabine River bridge (look for signs by) or entry by mail is available. Sign up times start Friday March 18th 2011 from 1pm-8pm.
Tournament start time is at 5:00 pm on March 18, 2011. Feral hog weigh in will be Sunday March 20th 2011 at 10:00 am. Twenty percent of entry fees will be pulled to take care of food and drinks. Whatever is left over will be added back into payout money. BBQ, drinks and door prizes shortly after the hog hunting winners are announced. No hog trapping is allowed!
Many hunters turn to hog hunting during the “off” season to fill the void between deer hunting seasons. However, there is a large percentage of hog hunters that do not own land or have a hunting lease where they can access non-native porkers. In these cases, public hunting land must fill the void. Enter the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), located northwest of Austin.
Since 2000, the feral hog population has been increasing at the NWR. Now, wildlife officials at Balcones are hoping to combat the destructive impact of feral hogs on native habitat. In fact, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering hunting the hogs by shooting them from a helicopter. It was not the first choice for controlling the increasing hog population, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
For years the Balcones Canyonlands refuge staff has tried to keep hog populations down by trapping them or killing them in one of several late autumn hunts, but those hunts have not yielded enough animals to prevent the growth of the resident hog population. Rooting aggressively for food and willing to wallow in anything that looks like a comforting depression of mud, the hogs have caused widespread damage to pastures, according to refuge manager Deborah Holle .
The refuge was formed in 1992 to protect habitat for two endangered songbirds, the black-capped vireo and the golden-cheeked warbler. The Balcones Canyonlands NWR comprises about 23,000 acres in Burnet, Travis and Williamson counties. There is no evidence that the feral hogs disrupt the life of the endangered songbirds, but they do wreak havoc on other wildlife in the refuge, Holle said. Plain and simple, wild hogs are competing with the natives for food and destroying their habitat.
Under the Feral Hog Management Plan, which was approved in 2001, hunters can shoot the animals during the refuge’s “Big Game Hunt.” The federal agency is considering amending the plan to allow for aerial shooting, which it calls a “successful and accepted means of hog control” in a news release. “Aerial shooting can be a cost-effective method for reducing the number of feral hogs occurring in high densities.” It has been used for years at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land surround Lake Granger and comprising the Granger Wildlife Management Area.
The popularity of feral hog hunting is at an all-time high, so it should come as no surprise that hog hunting contests are starting to come out of the wood work! Not only is hog hunting during the late winter a good way to get through this time of year now that deer season is over, but it also helps control the ever-growing hog population. The National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) is sponsoring the Lone Star Wild Hog Tournament from February 26 to March 6, 2011.
The tournament objectives are to decrease the numbers of feral hogs and their impact on farmers and ranchers, educate all hunters on the impacts of feral hogs to the economy and natural habitat, provide literature on methods of trapping and transporting hogs, and provide feral hog meat to interested persons. All participants must have a valid hunting license and abide by all federal and state regulations.
Hog hunters are required to dispose of their hogs by either donating field-dressed hogs to interested persons or selling live hogs to the Texas Approved Feral Swine Holding Facility in Windom. Hogs sold to the facility cannot be less than 50 pounds, be lame or captured with dogs.
Also partnering with the NWTF is Fannin County Agrilife Extension Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Caddo National Grasslands. This hog hunting tournament should be a lot of fun, so lock and load and look for some hogs!
Here are the rules:
Decisions: All decisions of the tournament officials are final.
Eligibility: All State and Federal penal code laws apply at all times. All Federal and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department laws and regulations shall apply at all times. Contestants must have proof of a valid hunting license on their person during tournament hours. Each team member must be a paid contestant of the Lone Star Wild Hog Tournament and abide by all rules and regulations.
Any contestant found to be in violation of any tournament rules and
regulations will be subject to disqualification from this tournament and
all future tournaments. Tournament officials have the right to refuse any entry. Hogs may be harvested by any legal means or methods, including trapping, and only on property that you lease, own, have the landowners permission to hunt on or the appropriate permit for (such as a Wildlife Management Area). No hogs may be harvested from a helicopter.
Registration and Entry Fee: Registration form with complete entry fee ($20 per person or $35 per two-person team) must be received at the time of their first hog checked in. There will be no refunds or substitutions of entry fees for any reason.
Tournament Times and Check In: Tournament begins on February 26, 2011 at 7:00 a.m. and ends March 6, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. A check station will be located at the Caddo National Grasslands work center 10 miles north of Honey Grove at County Road 409. It will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. the days of the tournament. Tails of the hogs will be removed at check in station by tournament officials.
Only freshly harvested hogs will be allowed to be checked in. Hogs
may not be frozen. It is up to the discretion of the tournament officials
to decide if a hog is not eligible for entry into the contest. All hogs must be disposed of by the hunter.
Prize Money: There are 3 regions. Places will be determined by the teams that checks in the highest Number of wild hogs per region during the tournament. Any ties will be split at appropriate places: 1st Place = $1,000 per team, 2nd Place = $750 per team, and 3rd Place = $500 per team. This contest will be conducted over 2 other regions as well. Check station locations by region:
North Region
Caddo National Grasslands Work Station
(10 miles north of Honey Grove on CR 409, 903-378-2103)
Central Region
A. Central – Angelina National Forest Ranger Station (111 Walnut Ridge Road, Zavalla, 936-897-1068)
B. Central – Sabine National Forest Ranger Station (5050 Highway 21 East, 5 miles east of Milam, 409-625-1940)
South Region
A. South – Davy Crockett National Forest Ranger Station (On Highway 7 about one-quarter mile west of FM 227 near Ratcliff, 936-655-2299)
B. South – Sam Houston National Forest Ranger Station (394 FM 1375 West, New Waverly, 936-344-6205
Polygraph: Each contestant, by signing the entry form and/or participation in the tournament, agrees to submit to polygraph examination. Polygraph test will be given on a random basis and must be passed.
Millions of hunters across the country love hog hunting for both food and sport. Though feral hogs provide excellent table fare, there have been concerns with hog diseases — both those wild boar can contract and suffer from as well as those diseases that they can carry and not suffer from. And the concern is not just limited to the processing of hogs for the freezer, but also by wildlife professionals and ranchers that realize hogs can serve as a vector between wild and domestic animal populations.
Research in Central Texas has found that feral hog populations can carry tularemia and brucellosis. However, one thing about this latest study is that the researchers were primarily looking for antibodies in hogs that fight against tularemia. Finding antibodies only means that the wild hogs have been exposed to the bacteria or virus, though they may not have ever been sick. The researchers did isolate the bacteria tularemia from samples obtained from a few pigs, but the exact meaning of this find is still unclear. Hog hunting is big in Central Texas, but I don’t think hunters should get scared out of the woods.
For example, some wildlife agencies collect coyotes for rabies surveillance. They will collect blood serum from these animals and test them for plague. Plague, however, is actually a rodent disease, but if a coyote eats a plague-infected rodent, then the coyote develops antibodies, even though they do not get sick from it. As a result, coyotes can be used as an indicator species for the purpose of plague surveillance.
Following this line of thinking, feral hogs may simply be an indicator species for tularemia. Wildlife professionals already know that tularemia is very widespread in nature across the state of Texas, but the question then boils down to whether or not feral hogs could infect human with the disease, either by carcass processing or consumption.
But I don’t think hunters have too much to worry about at least when it comes to tularemia. We know that rabbits are widely infected with tularemia, but very few hunters actually become infected. I suspect that many of the diseases that feral hogs carry are quite similar. If hog hunters use discretion when cleaning and processing hogs, and avoid gross negligence, then I don’t think there is much to worry about when it comes to hog hunting. Simply wear gloves and long-sleeved shirts and avoid exposing open wounds to hogs and you should be good to go.
My buddy and I always enjoy getting out a popping a few caps, but nothing beats a successful night of hog hunting in Texas. That is exactly what we ended up doing on this mild winter night. We knew that a herd of feral hogs had been coming into an earth tank regularly, but we’ve always been too late to the party. However, we headed out a little earlier tonight and crept towards the tank to see if any piggies were already there before we approached.
Of course, we didn’t see a hog around the tank. But then, we noticed a herd of hogs off in the distance — but moving in quickly. Then the footrace was on to see who could make it to the pond first! We rushed to reach the downwind side of the water and almost instantly the herd of feral hogs was upon us. It looked like our early start this night was really going to pay off on this hog hunting trip, and that a little pig population management was about to occur!
With the hogs at the small pond, we had no choice now but to hold our position with guns at our shoulders. Then, on cue, our IR illuminators lit up their eyes as they came running into certain death. Just as we whispered a countdown, face shots were given on the first two hogs. Hog Killer nailed his first one back in the snout and I shot through the eyeballs mine. Hogs starting scattering and shot after shot rang out in the panic. The pond yielded a total of five hogs and 3 took a kill shot straight to the face. The other two got it through the lungs.
We loaded up the better part of a truck load of hogs, then moved on to check out a field that has really been holding some animals where we have also been hog trapping. As luck would have it, we intercepted a lone boar in the field, just of some thick wooded habitat. Just to make sure this big guy went down quickly, we did a three, two and boom, firing simultaneously and dropping the wild boar right where he stood. You have got to love IR illuminators.
We loaded up our sixth hog just to get it out of the field and decided to call it a good night of hog hunting. We skinned out the four smallest pigs and put them in the two coolers we had, and are now looking forward to some tasty BBQ. Hunting has always been a passion of ours, but hog hunting at night with IR illuminators is just plain fun, especially when we end up with some great eating, too!
Feral hogs are not native to Texas. As most landowners know, wild pigs can cause a lot of damage and wreak economic havoc around farming and ranching operations. The blackland prairie ecoregion of Central Texas is well known for providing quality soils for crop production, but feral hogs negatively impact the farming operations found there. Although regular hog hunting activity occurs in this area, it does not occur at an intense enough level to limit hog populations.
The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) land surrounding Granger Lake and the Granger Wildlife Management Area (WMA), which are located just northeast of Taylor, are no different. The area is accessible for hog hunting to the public, but even archery equipment is no match for the ever-moving hog population found there. The USDA Wildlife Services personnel have attempted to alleviate damage caused by feral hogs to grain crops surrounding a wildlife management area for the past 12 years.
The hogs are damaging primarily corn and milo crops which border the 12,000 acre Granger WMA owned by the USACE and managed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Numerous methods have been attempted to lower the hog population and reduce the amount of damage suffered by the area farmers. Methods employed by Wildlife Services have included live hog trapping, shooting, snaring, dogs, aerial hunting, spotlighting, and the use of infrared and night vision equipment.
The success and results of these methods have been varied and are influenced by a number of limiting factors including cover, public use, and somewhat limited access to certain properties. Hunters know well that feral hogs can be difficult to hunt, but population reduction takes more than just hog hunting. Trapping, snaring and aerial shooting must also be a part of of hog population management, but local habitat and topography can influence control efforts and success.
