The Pig Report: What Role Do Hunters Play in the Fight Against Feral Swine?

By Patriot Outdoor News

The good news is that a war on pigs is under way right now. We know more about managing them than we ever have. Generally speaking, three approaches to the problem are currently in use. None alone can win the pig war. But combined, they stand a chance.

Dr. Stephen Ditchkoff is a professor of wildlife ecology and management at the Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences. A deer biologist, he is better known these days for his pig work. In 2003, Ditchkoff and a team of graduate students began a wild pig research project on Georgia’s Fort Benning military base, which is infested with swine. By monitoring the animals with trail cameras, GPS collars, and bait, they learned that wild pigs are highly territorial.

“You’d get a sounder—a group of related females and young—that would use an exclusive space, about 800 acres on average,” Ditchkoff says. “With little exception, those spaces did not overlap. We began to wonder if we could create a pig-free space by eliminating an entire sounder.”

Ditchkoff’s team trapped two sounders at first and monitored that area for six months afterward. It remained virtually pig-free. So they trapped three more, clearing a total of 5,000 acres. …read more

Source:: Patriot Outdoor News