Passport to Texas

This is Passport to Texas

The morning after Memorial Day, I spotted a group of feral pigs in a field. They’re usually nocturnal; perhaps flooding from heavy rains forced them from their hidden wallow.

14-Feral swine–or feral pigs–are not native to north America. They’re basically domestic swine gone wild, which have interbred with Eurasian wild boars, which were brought over in the 1900s, mainly for hunting purposes.

Wildlife biologist, Donnie Frels says more than 2.5 million of these hybrid animals roam Texas, causing extensive economic and environmental damage.

14- It’s been estimated by the Extension Service, that each year, Texas realizes about $50-million dollars in AG damage alone caused by feral swine, and about $200-million dollars in total damage each year.

Feral pigs are omnivores, and eat plants, insects, amphibians, reptiles, and even small mammals.

12- They compete with our native animals for acorns, fruits and mast during specific times of the year, which is how they negatively impact many of our game species.

How we’re attempting to control feral pigs. That’s tomorrow.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.