The question of "wild" VS "feral" is a good question. They had a show on Discovery Channel and they explained how fast a domesticated hog, that gets loose, breeds out the domestic features. It was amazing. They were talking just a few generations to move from feral to wild.

The snout gets longer, tusks longer, and the hair gets more course and wire like. They also said in this show of what would happen if man disappeared off the face of the earth, that pigs would be one breed of animalthat they think would survive. Because they can adapt to almost any climate & weather conditions, they adapt to new environments, and they breed so heavy.

Its too bad you had no luck the other night. But I am sure you will score some nice pork soon.

I've been told that domestic pigs are actually very likely to survive after they get loose. That's one of the reasons that they have become a major problem is because they are a VERY hardy animal that can survive just about any climate in the wild. Pigs are also very "smart" for an animal, supposedly smarter than dogs on average, which helps them adapt to a wild environment. From what I've read about wild pigs, most are actually a combination of feral domestic hogs and imported Russian hogs. The Russian breed was imported as a game animal from Europe (like pheasants), but the hogs are so hardy and breed so much that they soon got out of hand. Combine that with the fact that domestic hogs are also very hardy and will readily cross-breed, you've wind up with the major population problems that exist throughout the south. I guess the Iowa DNR has found a small population of wild hogs in southern Iowa and has issued basically a shoot-on-sight order. I don't even think you have to have a basic hunting license to shoot them. The DNR just wants you to call your local Game Warden to report the time/date/location of the kill so they can track where the hogs are spreading.

I wish I lived in a place where they were more plentiful. I'd love to be able to go out on the weekends and fill my freezer with basically free pork.

Mike

There is more than one variety of them I have hunted the Russian wild boar in OK and here in AR we have places where there is a population of AR Razorbacks. The Razor back is a bit lighter is a standard color and has a row of bristles down his back. They are also a lot more likely to charge. Lee

We get some red ones and some multi-colors, but this is what most of them in our area look like.

They're smart and shyer than a mature buck.