ABOUT THE ADVERSARY
The term bringing home the bacon takes on a whole new meaning when, the "bacon" is capable of devastating your entire pack of dogs.
When hunting wild hogs, there are many elements that can alter the outcome of any given hunt. Everything from the weather, to the terrain, to the amount dogs and hogs Involved comes into play. Wild hogs vary in size, shape, color, and even attitude. Some are naturally more aggressive than others as with every form of life. Of course the large "Russian boars" are always extremely violent. They fear little and when confronted they will put their head down and charge like a raging rhino. Razor sharp tusks combined with their massive weight and low center of gravity make them truly a force to be reckoned with. A three hundred-pound boar is not unusual and an eight hundred-pound boar Is not unheard of in these parts of Texas. A few years ago, a boar was taken just northwest of San Antonio that weighed over twelve hundred pounds. We have caught hogs, with dogs, that weighed as much as four hundred and forty pounds field dressed. That is part of what makes this "sport" so exciting, you never know what the dogs are going to run in to when you turn them out.
Even though there are many hogs that have never seen a dog, there are the many that know exactly what a dog Is and what will happen if he is allowed to get too close. Most likely the latter have been pursued by dogs before and somehow managed to avoid being captured. The action an experienced hog will take when confronted by dogs is typically to head for cover and fast, even If It means traveling several miles to get there. To a hog cover means the thickest, thorniest, roughest place he can find. And believe me there are many such places In South Texas. When the catch takes place, or shortly thereafter, the hunter must do what it takes to be there. Considering hogs range in size and temperament, It is rarely known how large or well equipped the hog(s) will be until you get there. Ultimately, the hunter's swiftness In the woods is a key factor to help prevent possible injury to his dogs and elevate their chances of survival. The larger, older boars usually have tusks anywhere from two to twelve inches in length, and they are expert swordsmen when it comes to using them. The average size boar, weighing two to three hundred pounds, will have three or four-inch tusks provided they have not been broken off in territorial disputes among themselves.
One of the things that is commonly overlooked about wild hogs is the fact that they are omnivorous, meaning they will eat both plant and animal matter. Because of this, they need very little assistance to survive. They are very opportunistic feeders and much of their diet is based on seasonal availability. Foods include grasses, roots, bulbs, leaves, nuts (acorns), fruits, mushrooms, and invertebrates. They will also eat insects, snails, earthworms, eggs, reptiles, live mammal and birds, as well as carrion dead animals). Feral hogs are especially fond of acorns, and domestic agricultural crops such as corn, Milo, rice, wheat, soybeans, peanuts, potatoes, watermelons and cantaloupe. They feed primarily at night and during twilight hours, but will also feed during daylight in cool or wet weather.
As long as they can find water they will thrive and flourish in the harshest of environments. Under normal conditions their population will increase at astonishing rates. A young sow is capable of breeding at six months of age but will normally have her first litter of pigs at eight to ten months, provided there is good nutrition. Under poor habitat conditions, sows have been known to eat their young. The average survival rate of a litter is approximately four to six pigs, but under good conditions may be as many as ten or twelve. Sows usually have two litters per year, roughly half males and half females. The production peaks in the early spring. However, if a sow has a litter in early January, she will have two more litters before the end of the year. When you put a pencil to those numbers, you can see why that there are so many wild hogs running around down here.
MORE ABOUT THE ADVERSARY
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (T.P.W.D.) did just that. They performed a study in 1991 and it was estimated that there were over one million feral hogs in Texas alone. I recently spoke with Mr. Rick Taylor, a Wildlife Biologist for T.P.W.D. and he agreed that was a conservative figure. There Is no way of knowing exactly how many hogs there are in and area as large as Texas, but these people make It their business to get a close count.
This was Mr. Taylor's answer to the question, "Can I wipe out a hog population through hunting or trapping?" He says, "The feral hog has managed to survive, adapt, and Increase its numbers despite attempts at population control. While it is possible to keep the population in check with continuous control, it Is highly unlikely to eradicate a hog population within an established range."
In talking with Mr. Taylor, he offered to provide me with some very interesting distribution and technical data from TEXAS FERAL HOG FACTS and FERAL HOG DISTRIBUTION IN TEXAS). The distribution map illustrates the areas were the hog populations are higher. I reside in south Bexar County, and we do most of our hunting south of where we live. However, the area just northwest of Bexar County provides some good hunting as well.
The "Russian boars" or European hogs that are mentioned on the "Texas feral hog facts" sheet were imported without the foresight of the effects they would have on this country. Soon the people involved with this endeavor realized these hogs were going to be a problem. The game ranchers were not prepared for such a beast. This is an animal that knows no boundary or border. There are very few fences, then or now, that will contain these massive wedge shaped creatures. This resulted In the loss of many of these large European hogs to the wilderness. Eventually they interbred with other wild hogs.
That is how the multiple varieties came to be, there are feral hogs that have the appearance of some of the more common domestic hogs. I have seen litters of wild pigs that have several different color piglets Contrary to popular belief, hogs are very intelligent animals. They travel the many miles around the countryside in search of food sources. Somehow they always know when the crops are ready for the picking. For this reason alone, thousands of dollars worth of crops are destroyed within days of harvest. An average size group of hogs will devour several acres of crops per night. A large group, of say eighty to ninety head, will destroy hundreds of acres of crops in less than a week. I have personally seen the results of such a feast. My father has told me of places he has seen that make what I just described look like child's play. That makes me wonder how much of this goes on and how, many dollars are lost each year.
Many of the farmers in and around our area know we have hog dogs, so they call upon my father to run the hogs off their land. Whether it be at planting time or harvest time, they are always having problems with wild hogs. When they go into a freshly planted field they will eat nearly every seed that was put in the ground. I think the sound of a tractor is probably like a big dinner bell. So, when a farmer calls us, he is usually desperate. He needs help and he needs it fast. Traps are helpful, but not effective. The same with shooting them or even at them. There is even an automatic "SHOT GUN" simulator that discharges a loud blast at preset intervals. They are usually set and placed in and around the problem areas. This is usually effective on deer and other small animals, but the hogs simply don't scare off that easy.
