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Wild Pig Sightings

Discussions about all wildlife, trees, plants, flowers, and geology
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new jersey mike
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2012 5:40 pm

Wild Pig Sightings

Unread post by new jersey mike »

Has anyone seen any wild boars/pigs. I know it's a growing issue along the PA boarder and up as high as Syracuse. The DEC has a map but it has not been updated since 2010.

Wild pigs can present a danger, which is part of my concern along with the damage to the forest floor, fields and ground nesting birds like turkey.

So maybe we can start an update thread?
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mike
Posts: 1442
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2009 9:20 pm
Location: Ravena, NY

Re: Wild Pig Sightings

Unread post by mike »

Never seen any in the Catskills. Never heard of any sightings either.
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Jon
Posts: 324
Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2011 9:43 pm
Location: Bangor, PA

Re: Wild Pig Sightings

Unread post by Jon »

wow wouldn't want one of those crawling in the tent with me at night! Anyone seen Hannibal?
new jersey mike
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2012 5:40 pm

Re: Wild Pig Sightings

Unread post by new jersey mike »

My friend in Worcester said some were reported there this past summer 2011.
new jersey mike
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2012 5:40 pm

Re: Wild Pig Sightings

Unread post by new jersey mike »

new jersey mike
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2012 5:40 pm

Re: Wild Pig Sightings

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Jon
Posts: 324
Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2011 9:43 pm
Location: Bangor, PA

Re: Wild Pig Sightings

Unread post by Jon »

I haven't read many of these articles, but I would like to clear something up first. I have had to study feral pigs in the U.S. previously and there are some common misconceptions about them, and their origins. There is a difference between wild pigs(or wild boars) and feral pigs. Most articles online will use the word interchangeably, and Wikipedia doesn't even seem to get it right in their descriptions either.

Wild pigs are native to Europe, and include different species of wild boars that are relatives of domestic pigs. Wild boars and wild pigs would eat our feral pigs for breakfast (BACON!)

Domesticated animals aren't just wild animals which have been tamed. Domestication is a much longer process. When a species is domesticated it means that humans have "bred the wild out" of it basically, and we have used artificial selection over hundreds of generations to obtain a product creature that suits our needs(pigs were domesticated around 15,000 years ago in Iraq). So by generations of selective breeding, the domestic pig is a different species than the wild boars of Europe.

feral doesn't just mean "wild" feral means a species that has been domesticated by man, and is then released into the wild. You can have feral horses because man domesticated them, and they can escape into the wild(i.e. Mustangs). You cannot have feral Zebras since man has never domesticated the Zebra, Zebras are wild. Even if someone has a pet Zebra, it's not domesticated, it's just a tamed wild Zebra.

The feral pigs we have in the U.S. aren't technically wild boars or wild pigs. They're feral pigs because they're genetically identical to domestic pigs kept on farms, they've just escaped to the wild. Species which are considered wild boars, are descendants of wild boars, and have not had humans artificially select traits in their gene pool. There are several species which live in Europe, but they are not descendants of domesticated pigs released into the wild. The domesticated pigs are more likely descendants, or distant cousins of the Wild boars.

However when these domesticated animals get released into the wild something strange happens. Within 1 generation the species of bald pink bacon that we are used to seeing on farms, can grow an elongated skull, tusks, and even thick coats of brown and black hair. This is essentially the same species that we keep on farms, just a different phenotype. Phenotype is differences in appearance depending on condition. Genotypes are differences based on genetics, when appearances may be similar. So Feral pigs and farm raised pigs are the same genotypes, even though they may be different phenotype. Feral pigs and Wild pigs are different genotypes even though they might seem visually similar or the same phenotype.

The feral pigs are not wild pigs or wild boars though, since they still have the same DNA and same genetics of domestic pigs species. Most onlinr manuals say that Eurasian wild pigs are found in the US but the DNA tests say otherwise.They might be able to breed or "hybridize" with species of wild boars back in Europe. However even though they might look more like a wild boar than a fat farm raised pink bald piggy, they're genetically dissimilar. They will like most hybrids can become sterile.

This also clues us in to the origin of most feral pigs on the U.S. Most feral pigs are not wild-boar descendants of Wild boars that were brought in the 1500-1600s. Europeans weren't bringing wild boars, they brought domesticated pigs. So even if these got loose 400 years ago, they would be descendants of domestic pigs, not descendants of wild boars. I don't image it's likely that settlers rode around the European countryside wrangling up wild boars. Probably they went to local farms and markets and bought domestic pigs. If they were breeding in the wild for 400 years, they should be genetically disimilar to domestic pigs. Most feral pigs are very similar genetically to domestic pigs, and aren't more than a few generations escaped into the wild. They are simply domestic pigs which escaped from pig farms in the U.S. 20-30 years ago and have feral breeding populations in the wild. One of the best ways to get rid of these pests is to have tighter controls on pig farms.

Don't tell the pig farmers this, they will deny it adamantly because of the difference in appearance between feral pigs and farm pigs. They'll say that the feral pigs look more like wild boars from Europe, so it's more likely they're descendants of wild boars brought over by Christopher Columbus than the pink juicy beasts they're raising on their farms.
RickM
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Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2012 9:42 am

Re: Wild Pig Sightings

Unread post by RickM »

I live in the upper tip of Dutchess County.... and a person i know showed me pix of a 400 pound feral hog he shot on his own property Saturday....Yes Virginia, they are here.... NYS DEC says "If ya see 'em, shoot 'em!!" They are big and quite dangerous.... I hope I don't hit one on the road....make a real mess of my car !!
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