The wild boar is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig, native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa. In the United States, free-roaming feral hogs, also called feral swine or wild hogs, descend from escaped domestic pigs, released Eurasian boar, and their hybrids. They are a major invasive pest, rooting up crops, wetlands, and native habitat.
Appearance
- Appearance
- A bulky, short-legged pig with a big head, a hump behind the shoulders, and coarse bristly hair. Mature feral hogs regularly reach 190 lb (86 kg) or more. Compared with farm hogs, feral pigs are usually leaner, with thicker hides, rougher hair, and longer tusks.
Look-alikes
Javelinas are much smaller (about 55 lb vs. 190 lb or more for a grown hog), have a pale band of hair around the neck, small round ears, and usually no visible tail. Feral hogs have longer, pointed ears and a visible tail.
Why they get mixed upBoth are dark, pig-shaped animals in Texas and the Southwest, and dark hogs can look like javelinas in poor light.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Forests
- Brushy cover near water
- Farm fields
- Range
- Native from Western Europe and North Africa east to Japan and Southeast Asia. In the US, feral populations spread from about 20 states in 1990 to roughly 38 states by about 2015. Texas holds the most, an estimated 2.5 million pigs.
- Preferred conditions
- Needs dense cover and water nearby, and does best where deep snow is rare.
Behavior
- Diet
- An omnivore that eats roots, tubers, nuts, berries, seeds, fungi, and carrion. Acorns are a key food where oaks grow.
- Activity
- Signs that feral pigs are nearby include rooted-up soil, muddy wallows, mud rubbed on trees, and hoof tracks near water.
- Social life
- Females and young live in family groups called , led by an older female. Adult males are mostly solitary outside the breeding season.
- Senses
- Very keen sense of smell and good hearing, but weak eyesight; it may not recognize a person standing still 30–50 ft (10–15 m) away.
Life cycle
- Gestation
- About 115 days
- Litter size
- Sows can have 1–2 litters a year, with up to about 13 piglets each
- Time to maturity
- Sows can become pregnant as early as 6 months old.
Name and classification
- About the name
- In the US, “razorback” and “wild hog” may refer to feral domestic pigs, Eurasian boar, or hybrids, which all belong to the same species.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
- Threats
- Feral swine cause at least $3.4 billion in damage each year in the US, rooting up crops, wetlands, and native habitat. About 8% carry , which can infect livestock and people.
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- Spanish explorers brought pigs to what is now the southeastern US in the 1500s; Hernando de Soto landed pigs in Florida in 1539.
More species to explore
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