Feral hogs in Arizona

[bowhuntaz1]

This was in yesterdays Arizona Republic on page 3 of the Valley and State

 

Lake Havasu

Wildlife services keep eyes on hog population

Wildlife managers with the U.S. Department of Agriculture are keeping a close eye on the wild-hog population in Arizona after seeing what the animals have done in other parts of the country.

"Just about anywhere swine show up, they're quite adaptable and...they'll eat almost anything they come across,"said David Bergman, Arizona director for the USDA's wildlife-services division.

He said wild hogs root up wetlands, damange crops, threaten endangered species and spread diseases to commercial livestock and perhaps evan humans.

Experts estimate there are 500 to 1000 wild hogs in Arizona, mostly in Cochise,Pima,Yavapai and La Paz counties. They are descendents of animals brought to the New World by the Spanish in 1539.

 

 

 

Thought it was interesting so I passed it on...

[CouesWhitetail]

Thanks for the info. I would love to shoot a hog sometime.

 

Amanda

 

[FlyingW]

There is a few up in our neck of the woods (saw 8 in August) right on the AZ/NM border . Used to be quite a few about 10 years ago but the locals put a pretty good dent in their population over the years !!!

[scoutm]

Thanks for the info. I would love to shoot a hog sometime.

 

Amanda

 

+1 for sure.

[bowhuntaz1]

There is a few up in our neck of the woods (saw 8 in August) right on the AZ/NM border . Used to be quite a few about 10 years ago but the locals put a pretty good dent in their population over the years !!!

I'm on my way when my arm heals...

[joeybari]

Hope that AZ does not fall victim to them like most other states that are infested with pigs.

I also have read up on the matter and it’s a real problem to the eco system of every state that they are in.

Like you said number one problem is that they multiply like rabbits and they eat everything. Could you imagine what that would do to the Coues deer population thought out the state, they struggle to survive as it is. (There like uninvited unpleasant guests at the dinner table)

There should be a discussion with the game and fish department to get rid of these none native pests. One of the reasons that Arizona hunting is so unique is that fact that all big game is native to Arizona and that they all have a place in our state. These pigs don’t

Thank you for the post

 

 

 

[FlyingW]

There is a few up in our neck of the woods (saw 8 in August) right on the AZ/NM border . Used to be quite a few about 10 years ago but the locals put a pretty good dent in their population over the years !!!

I'm on my way when my arm heals...

 

I will tie one up for you !!! They do tear the ground up pretty bad and I can only imagine if we had a large population of them . Compile that with the erosion problem we are already dealing with and the end result would be pretty ugly !!!

[Non-Typical Solutions]

We used to see them quite often hunting down in the bootheel of New Mexico close to the Mexico border.

We went 20 years ago over to Meteor Crater on a wild pig chase but never found any over there.

If we don't keep the numbers down we will all of the sudden be providing services for the pesky buggers

 

Thanks for the update....

[Red Rabbit]

Recent stuff from News 15 (although they did have a Javelina in the video clip)

http://www.abc15.com/content/news/northern...zfLqit_WCg.cspx

[DesertHunter]

I live in Lake Havasu City and I work for the city and I have seen some pigs at our City Maintenance Yard. This yard is close to the Lake so the come over to feed. The pigs also have been tearing up one of the golf courses that butts up to the refuge. The pigs are all over on the refuge and we have been trying to get on there and take care of some business.

[TwoGuns]

They are out there...here is trail camera proof of what they look like in N. AZ.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cjw2222]

^ Awesome Pic!!

 

I sure would love to wax one of em

[elkaholic]

hello - pigs have been in the state since the early 1900's - why we have never been over run like other states is not really known !-

do the math --, a feral hog population can double in 4 months.

. Females begin breeding at about 8 to 10 months old, or as young as 6 months if food is abundant.

Under favorable conditions, sows can produce two litters every 12 to 15

months, with an average of four to eight piglets per litter and a sex ratio of

1:1. Younger sows tend to have smaller litters, while an older sow may have

as many as 10 to 13 piglets. . Drought and food shortages can delay breeding and reduce the number of piglets born, but feral hog populations recover quickly when conditions improve.

 

Most of us hunters here in Arizona would love to have a chance at hunting feral hogs but don't have the time or resources to find them - the refuge at Havasu should have a season to help control the numbers - hunters apply and get a date to come hunt - it could be an all yr round season ! Gary

[Guest DaRut]

Shot one in 5B North this year. Not allot but they are there.

[Butters]

I have shot four hog's in three years here in AZ hunting these ugly things when there's no other hunts going on is a lot of fun. And let me tell you what when you find where they are at you'll see how bad they really are to have around by what they do to the land.