Posted on 01/24/2010 6:30:19 PM PST by NCjim
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — National park biologists are trying to come to grips with a hog infestation in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
In 2009, the park's hog team removed 620 wild hogs, the third highest since the hog control program started in the late 1950s. Biologists say the hog population spiked last year because of a bountiful mast crop that enabled the sows to produce more than one litter.
Park biologist Bill Stiver told the Knoxville News-Sentinel the introduction of wild, semi-domesticated hogs into the park has made hog control even more difficult.
"The speculation is that hunters are illegally releasing feral pigs that eventually make their way inside the park," Stiver said. "It's a major problem not just here, but all over North America."
He said numerous hogs killed this year had spotted markings and curly tails associated with domestic pigs.
"We're getting a handful of animals that morphologically look different from our traditional wild boar," Stiver said. "Some of them act different, too. Instead of running away, they let you walk up to them."
Hogs in the park date to the early 1920s, when a herd of European hogs escaped from a game reserve on Hooper's Bald in the mountains of Graham County, N.C. The wild hogs moved into the park by the 1940s and began to wreak havoc on the ecosystem by eating rare plants and salamanders, defecating in streams and turning up the ground.
Biologists believe the wild hogs that invaded the park already had crossed with free-ranging domestic pigs. Their appearance, however, retained the lean hips, large tusks, straight tails and black hair of their European ancestors.
Since hunting isn't allowed in the Smokies, the park employs a seasonal hog control team that keeps the population in check through hunting and trapping.
(Excerpt) Read more at wral.com ...
I had to go look and find out what mast was.
Mmmmm, wild hog sausage good.
Let’s go huntin’!
I think they need to round them all up and send them to Washington, there is a lot of slop, pork, Congress probably could use a bit more.
As long as your supply of deer slugs and mesquite charcoal holds up, I don’t see the problem.
wild hogs everywhere? now we know where to keep all the terrorist prisoners from Gitmo!!
Seems someone brought in some Siberian wild hogs to breed with ours - and since those hogs are like African bees or kudzu - they’re spreading... everywhere.
It simply amazes me that the government hasn't figured out that hunters will PAY for the privilege of controlling the population. But nooooooo ...
That's right. They outlawed citizen hunters, then used tax money to hire bureaucrat hunters. Is there any retarded thing a Marxist won't do?
Bush’s fault!
Repeat as necessary
“...I had to go look and find out what mast was...”
-
Don’t you like to share?
MAST:
the edible seed and fruit produced by trees or shrubs
that wildlife species will consume...
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Why can’t we introduce this feral species of hogs in to all large muslim nations? In my dreams I see millions of these hogs decimating poppy fields and wreaking havoc in Afghanistan.
Share your sausage recipe, please.
And there's the problem right there.
A ‘declared’ hunting season to thin out the population is necessary. See? Humans do have a function (shhhhhh don’t tell the gorebots)
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