Destructive Feral Pigs Find Large Parts of the South to Be Hog Heaven

At Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida panhandle, the wild hogs have so disturbed the landscape that biologists are worried about the impact on salamanders, turtle nests, the more than 250 plant species--some of them unique and even threatened--and the system of streams and watering holes. For the first time, a formal control plan is being developed, and a study to quantify the damage is about to be undertaken by the University of West Florida.

And here at Robins Air Force Base, just south of Macon, the hogs have destroyed flower beds and other landscaping, blithely excavated the base golf course, and endangered pilots landing and taking off on the airfield with their sudden appearances in groups of 30 or 40. After making an effort to trap them, base officials recently declared a special hunting season, open until Sept. 10 for military and civilian employees of the base and their guests. Control is such a problem that the base may have to invest in expensive fences, said Bob Sargent, natural resources manager for the base. "This is not something that happened overnight, and it is not going to go away immediately," Sargent said. "Our goal is to keep their numbers low enough so they don't threaten our aircraft--or our biodiversity."

Although hogs may seem as American as a barnyard, they are not a native North American species, Sargent said. Brought here by Christopher Columbus and other early explorers, he said, they were distributed primarily from Virginia to Texas and remain largely a southern phenomenon. However, parts of the Hawaiian Islands have been overrun by the creatures for years.

Today's versions of the hogs can resemble the domestic variety, with black spots on white, for example, or sport a more fearsome look resembling a razorback. Many have a mane of stiff brown or near-black hair, longer, pointier snouts and a leaner, meaner visage. They will eat anything from acorns to small mammals.

Hunting the wild hogs, often using bows and arrows, bulldogs or knives, has become a popular sport in the last few years. Veteran hunters have a healthy respect for the animals and their skill at dodging capture by outfoxing their pursuers--leading dogs through a wily zigzag chase through moonlit fields--and fighting tooth and nail once surrounded.

"I've hunted all my life--big cats, black bear in the mountains--but the hog is the most fierce and challenging to hunt," said Elvan Helms, 51, of Monroe, N.C. "A hog, he is a vicious man--he has no fear about him." Helms, with others, was called upon to clear out the hog population in nearby Chesterfield County, S.C.