Someone pleae correct me if I am wrong. I believe that there are no wild hogs native to North America. These hogs are descendants of domestic pigs and are therefore correctly called feral. I know in Florida these animals can be hunted pretty much at anytime. I think they may not even come under the authority of fish and game.
They are considered a menance to native plants and animals. The are very destructive and will attack even when not provoked.
I have 4 yellow curs who I know would love to get a hold of a hog. But since I don't hunt they will just have to dream.
The hog would win. They really are bad and they are smart. Here in my area of Texas we have hogs but they are not a bad problem. We kill them. Many of the the ranchers will have hog hunts at hundred dollars a gun. The hunter normally will get a kill and the meat. The rancher is richer and has got rid of them damn hogs. Everybody wins.
The ones in this area (California) were imported from the Ural Mountains via Tennessee/Kentucky.
You might be right about no native wild hogs, but here in Texas we do have some Russian Hogs that were imported for hunting and are runnig wild. They are BIG and MEAN.
I have heard that Florida hogs are descended from what the Spanish brought over in the 1500s. I have seen two feral hogs, together, while hiking alone and unarmed in the Cape Canaveral seashore in Florida. I was about ten feet away from one when I took a picture of it, and the sound of the camera scared them into the bushes.
There sure are, they are called Javelina...
Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Tayassuidae Genus: Pecari Species: tajacu
Geography – Range The Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts of southwestern Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, southward through Central America to northern Argentina.
Vital Stats:
Weight: 35-60 lbs.
Length with tail: 40-60".
Shoulder Height: 20-24".
Sexual Maturity: 2 years.
Mating Season: year round.
Gestation Period: 140-150days.
No. of Young: 1-3, 2 avg.
Birth Interval: 1 year.
Lifespan: 10 years in the wild.
Typical diet: agaves and prickly pears.
Facts:
Collared Peccary is the only wild, native, pig-like animal found in the United States.
The Collared Peccary, also known as the Javelina, Tayaussa or the Musk Hog.
They are called Javelina because of their razor-sharp tusks, Spanish for javelin or spear.
You may smell a peccary before you see it.
The prickly pear is ideal food for the Collared Peccary due to its high water content.
Collared Peccary have poor eyesight and good hearing.