History of Wild Swine in the United States
Distant past transplantations
There are two types of pig-like mammals in the world today: Old world (Suidae) and Peccaries (Tayasssuidae). Javalinas are part of the peccary family and are an indigenous species to the southwester part of the United States.[1] The wild boar (Sus Scrofa) is part of the Suidae family. Native populations of Sus Scrofa (wild boar, wild swine, feral hogs, feral swine) in North and South America were nonexistent until the Europeans introduced them in the 1500’s. Columbus purposely released domestic swine in West Indies during his second voyage to establish a feral swine population that could be used as a food supply for future explorations. Although not well documented, Pounce De Leon may have introduced the first swine into North America’s mainland Florida in 1525. It is documented that Hernado de Soto introduced Eurasian domestic swine to Florida in 1539. These early introductions of Sus Scrofa continued throughout the exploration periods of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Armed with a unique combination of aggressive temperament, high breeding rates, large litter sizes, and adaptable eating habits, the feral domestic swine competed successfully with local indigenous species and very quickly morphed into a rapidly growing population of “wild boar”.
The feral Eurasian swine population in the western hemisphere continued to grow through reproduction in the wild as well as the continued influx of domestic swine from the European settlers. Up until the 1800’s it was common for the European settlers to “free range” their swine. This practice amounted to releasing domestic swine into the wild where they were allowed to fend for themselves until harvested at a later date. Clearly, during this same time period, feral swine were caught and redomesticated depending on the needs of the early settlers.
From this information it can be ascertained that, for some four hundred years, the lines between feral swine, domestic swine, and Eurasian wild boar were extremely blurred. However, during the latter part of the 1800’s the practice of free ranging swine became less and less acceptable. During the 1800’s, especially after the Civil War, the United States began to coalesce from wild territories and a loose confederation of states to a federation of states under rule of law. The human population increased rapidly throughout the continent and along with it came fences, agriculture, and selective livestock breeding programs. During this time period the feral swine populations that were once considered a valuable resource began to be seen as a nuisance. With a reputation of agriculture destruction and young domestic livestock predation, whether deserved or not, the feral swine began to be hated by ranchers and farmers alike.
These feelings were amplified in the 1900’s as farmers and ranchers began to comprehend the viral and bacterial diseases that could be transferred back and forth between feral and domestic livestock. In the latter part of the 1900’s the USDA began to implement disease eradication programs throughout the domestic livestock populations across the United States. Feral livestock did and still poses a threat of being an uncontrollable carrier host for the diseases slated for eradication in domestic livestock.
The feral swine population in the United States is still growing. Over half of the states in United States have feral swine populations with Florida and Texas reporting over a million swine each. Although illegal in most states, the practice of introducing swine into the wild is still occasionally being performed. However, modern day releases are not done to establish a self-sufficient food supplies as in the past. Rather, the swine are introduced for a self-sufficient supply of an exotic game animal to be hunted.
Today feral swine are stilled viewed by farmers and ranchers unenthusiastically due to the possible negative financial impact feral swine populations could have on their own businesses. In many cases, modern day wildlife managers have also joined ranks with farmers and ranchers. Feral swine populations compete for resources with managed wildlife such as deer turkey
On the other hand, there is now a thriving industry developing in the United States based on the hunting of feral swine. There are thousands of places throughout the southern part of the United States to which hunters can experience the thrill of hunting of feral swine. These hunts range from unguided feral swine hunts on public land to guided hunts on privet lands with released swine.
Recent transplantations
In the last fifteen years, there have been at least four different bloodlines brought into North America: The Kalden, San Diego, Bzikot, and Andreas bloodlines [2]. The Kalden bloodline traces its roots to Poland as does the Bzikot lines. The Andreas bloodline hails from the Stockholm Zoo. The San Diego bloodline actually has it ancestry in the Black Forest of Germany and the Chechnyan Republic.
Two Rivers, Inc. is in the process of investigating bringing to the United States, two other bloodlines. One bloodline is from Europe while the other is from Asia. We hope to move forward in this process in the next couple of years.
References
[1] Wild Hog Hunting, Craig Marquette & Dave Sturkey, ISBN:96-061091
[2] Palmer, Terry A., Boar Hunter Magazine, Nov/Dec 2003, p. 48-49