Feral hogs a 'very bad problem'

There's a joke about feral hogs in the Rio Grande Valley.

If a sow has a litter of six, eight will survive.

Epimeno Atkinson doesn't think it's that funny.

The hogs are a constant irritation for Atkinson, who has a 1,500-acre cattle ranch east of Rio Hondo, and other Valley farmers.
Two million feral hogs, half the number that live in the entire United States, are found in Texas, according to Texas Cooperative Extension estimates.

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It's hard to say how many feral hogs — Russian boars, domesticated pigs gone wild or a combination of the two — live in the Lower Valley, but the number is sizeable.

"The South Texas population is about as dense as you can get it," said Chris Lena, wildlife information specialist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. "There's plenty of brush for them to hide in and you will see them by day or night. In other areas, you will see them almost entirely at night because of hunting pressure."

They're called wild boars, razorbacks, piney-woods rooters or woods hogs in different regions, but they all have two things in common — they breed like rabbits and eat just about anything.

According to the Wildlife Services unit of Texas Cooperative Extension, the population can double every four months. Females breed at 8 to10 months old, produce up to 13 piglets per litter and can have three litters a year.

And while they're omnivorous, the hogs have a particular fondness for acorns and crops, which puts them even more at odds with farmers who have to worry about the damage they cause — there's nothing they love better than wallowing in a hole for a good mud bath.

"They are a very bad problem," Atkinson said. "They dig too many holes in the pasture and when I'm mowing I have to mow in first gear."

Although attacks on humans are rare, they do occur.

"In a natural state, feral hogs will prefer to run and escape danger and are not considered dangerous," according to Texas Parks and Wildlife. However, "extreme caution should be maintained when tracking wounded animals, trapping animals or encountering females with young. Their razor sharp tusks combined with their lightning speed can cause serious injury."

Feral hogs — which can weigh 100 to 400 pounds — have been known to injure or even kill hunting dogs, according to Texas Cooperative Extension. They have poor eyesight but excellent hearing and sense of smell. They are also considered one of the most intelligent wild animals.

Atkinson does what he can to control them.

"You can catch a lot of them in traps, but you can't get rid of them," the rancher said. "If you use poison, you will also kill a lot of game, maybe 60 percent of the deer."

"If I have a gun, I will kill some to eat," he said. "I will cook them as stew, barbecue them or put them on a grill. They make good ribs.
"The biggest I've killed was about 400 pounds, but a male that big — you can't eat it because it will stink," Atkinson said.

Generally, however, their meat is considered very tasty and leaner than farm-raised hogs.

Feral hogs have few natural enemies — most Valley predators are just too small to kill an adult. Alligators are the exception, but there are too few of them to make a difference.

"I've only seen a wild animal kill a hog once, and that was about 10 years ago," Atkinson said. "I saw a couple of coyotes jump a pig that was about 4 months old."

As bad as the feral hog problem is, there is a positive side. Some ranchers have opened their property to hunting. A four-day, three-night hunting package at one Texas ranch costs $1,550. A bill introduced in the Texas Legislature earlier this year would allow aerial hunting. The Texas Humane Legislation Network and Humane Society of the United States opposed the bill, however. And while there is no feral hog hunting season — they can be hunted year-round — hunting does require a valid Texas hunting license.

Steve Sinclair is a reporter for the Valley Morning Star.