Posts tagged with wild pigs. View all posts
Landowners in Hardeman, Wichita, Clay, Wilbarger, Milam, Williamson and Nueces counties interested in participating in a wild pig workshop and training can join us for free this fall to learn more about effective management practices and to become familiar with smart trapping techniques.
The Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB) is working with the United States Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Texas Wildlife Damage Management Association (TWDMA), Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute (NRI), and four local Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) to help address the issues that feral swine pose to agriculture, ecosystems, and the health of humans and animals.
One means of understanding wild pig biology and behavior is turning to their not-so-distant relatives, the Eurasian boar. Read more to see how we examine the differences between North American feral swine and Eurasian boar research focused on the activity patterns and behavioral modifications of these animals in response to both human control efforts and environmental influences.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced it is awarding approximately $1.5 million to the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB) to fund three additional pilot projects to control feral swine in Texas.
The use of toxicants for the management of wild pig populations is another potential tool to reduce damage and prevent populations from growing and spreading. Research is ongoing to answer critical questions regarding efficacy and humaneness as well as any potential environmental impacts prior to the use of toxicants, like sodium nitrite, on wild pigs in Texas.
Conservation biology and land management are research cornerstones at NRI, and we're fortunate to be able to build sound-science resources for private and public entities across the U.S. But it's no surprise when working lands comprise more than 82% of Texas's land area that our largest end-users are private landowners, working heuristically to solve natural resource challenges.
No hunting license? No problem…at least when it comes to wild pigs.
NRI’s wild pig reporting web-page, developed by the institute’s data analytics team, provides a unique portal for data to be reported not only in Texas, but anywhere wild pigs are observed.
Maintaining the natural beauty of Long Acres Ranch is an ever-evolving task, and as many land and natural resource managers would say, an immersive experience.
Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) have gained quite a reputation for being aggressive towards humans and companion animals. A quick Google or YouTube search can easily lead one to believe these animals routinely grow to enormous sizes and will readily attack and eat humans or pets when given an opportunity. The truth about human and wild pig interactions, however, is not nearly that sensational. This article will explore research conducted on human-wild pig interactions, and will attempt to separate the facts from the substantial lore surrounding this topic.
Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are a growing concern across the country, and, unfortunately, Texas seems to have the largest population over other states. Landowners, producers and others concerned with minimizing damages associated with this exotic species often look to emerging technologies to reduce wild pig numbers.
NRI's Josh Helcel and the wild pig team spoke with Susan Culp with the Texas Animal Health Commission to answer a few questions about the safety of bringing home the bacon. Click read more to watch the video.
Nearly 160 years ago Charles Darwin published his “On the Origin of Species,” a work that would become the cornerstone of evolutionary biology. The book's 502 pages outlined the scientific theory of natural selection and species diversity through evolution across successive generations. If you’ve ever wondered where wild pigs (Sus scrofa) came from, why there are so many different names for them and how man has influenced nearly everything about them, well then what follows may be worth your minutes.
Wild pigs are considered opportunistic omnivores – meaning they will consume both plant and animal food sources available to them throughout the year. The vast majority of a wild pigs diet consists of plant materials, and an important, seasonal food source for wild pigs are mast crops (acorns, fruits or beans). Common mast producing species in Texas include oaks, hickories, honey mesquite, prickly pear cactus and persimmon. This article will highlight the research that has been conducted on wild pig competition with native wildlife for mast, the effects mast has on wild pig population trends and how wild pigs’ consumption of mast can influence forest composition.
Countywide wild pig abatement programs have been implemented across Texas for decades. Many of these programs are based on some type of bounty system, usually pertaining to a one- to three-month period when landowners bring physical evidence verifying animal harvest to a central location in exchange for money.
