ever see wild pigs in NH ?

[Chip]

(Mods can delete this if it's out of line.)

I'm tapping into the vast NH General Backcountry knowledge and experience here. (see, there's the tie-in )
I'm wondering if anyone has seen feral pigs/boar in NH ?
I know the Corbin's Park/Blue Mountain Forest Association story.
Just wondering if there's any actual experience, especially in Grafton and Coos Counties ?
Thanks.

 

[David Metsky]

Not out of line, but more appropriate for the New England forum so I'll move it there.

 

[sierra]

I can say with alot of confidence that there is not. I can also say I am glad, they can be one of the worst animals to have take hold. They mulitply in great numbers, decimate all kinds of foliage and once you get them, you got them. Ive seen footage from Texas, where they are shooting at herds of them from helicopters and they still havent come close to controlling the population. The most dire thought that comes to mind, is meeting one while hiking with my dog. They are mean as hell and will attack a man, forget about the dog. If they did come to NH and they put out a bounty, I would get in line for a permit.

 

[TCD]

Lengthy thread from ADKForum:

http://www.adkforum.com/showthread.php?t=16198

Already a big problem in western NY.

 

[Chip]

If they did come to NH and they put out a bounty, I would get in line for a permit.

I agree with everything you said, except that "there is not", which is why I asked. There may be.
They are not protected. All you'd need is a hunting license and "permission" from Blue Mountain Forest Association, which they readily give apparently.
In NH, on your own property, you wouldn't even need that.

 

[sierra]

I agree with everything you said, except that "there is not", which is why I asked. There may be.
They are not protected. All you'd need is a hunting license and "permission" from Blue Mountain Forest Association, which they readily give apparently.
In NH, on your own property, you wouldn't even need that.

I guess I spoke to soon. I just did some quick research and I guess there are some, they estimate less then 500, but that number really surprised me. I sure hope they stay out of the Whites, at least where I hike anyway, jees. Thanks for the heads up Chip.

 

[Raven]

(Mods can delete this if it's out of line.)

I'm tapping into the vast NH General Backcountry knowledge and experience here. (see, there's the tie-in )
I'm wondering if anyone has seen feral pigs/boar in NH ?
I know the Corbin's Park/Blue Mountain Forest Association story.
Just wondering if there's any actual experience, especially in Grafton and Coos Counties ?
Thanks.

This would be interesting. I've never seen them in NH, but have heard of the Western NY issue from friends in Buffalo and personally have come across them numerous times hiking in Florida. They run around in packs fairly confidently and make a mess of the landscape.

Incidentally, I did recently try chocolate covered bacon. Not sure why.

 

[J&J]

Here's a blurry shot of a Russian Boar from deep inside Corbin Park. Blurry because it was taken from the back of a pickup truck as we were being delivered to the Croydon trailhead. This was one of the smaller ones. Occasionally they do escape from Corbin. I wouldn't want to see one on the trail and we didn't in the hiking we did there.

 

[SteveR]

A man and his dog have nothing to fear from a healthy wild boar. They are just as wary as our native NH wildlife and will not stick around if they know you are in the area. Like a Black Bear for instance.

I know of one actual experience in Grafton County where a friend of mine went to feed his horses in the AM and found one in the barn getting in the grain. This was a few years back and likely a Corbin escapee.

 

[peakbagger]

I encountered a group of them in the smokies on the AT one morning. When we went over a rise and they saw us, they headed into the woods. The destruction they do to the forest floor looks like a rototiller. The NPS has full time hunters controlling them but the damage is still apparent..

 

[sierra]

A man and his dog have nothing to fear from a healthy wild boar. They are just as wary as our native NH wildlife and will not stick around if they know you are in the area. Like a Black Bear for instance.

I know of one actual experience in Grafton County where a friend of mine went to feed his hoses in the AM and found one in the barn getting in the grain. This was a few years back and likely a Corbin escapee.

That is good to know. I was under the impression that they were vicious and aggresive.

 

[TCD]

I don't think the relative risk to hikers from boar is well understood. A quick look at several sources shows the usual spectrum of opinions. On one end, there is the "All animals are kind and good, everything wrong with the world is man's fault" opinion, and on the other end there is the "Carry a machine gun, kill on sight" opinion.

Reports indicate that like some other wildlife: in general they will avoid you; males are territorial; females will attack if they have piglets in the area. Reports further indicate that if you were to be attacked, the quickest option would be to climb onto something (rock, tree) at least about 6' high.

These critters are fairly new to the NE, so I think we will have to wait for data to really know how we will interact with them.

 

[peakbagger]

Various TV low budget TV channels have given them a worse reputation of late and yes they are an issue to be managed in southern states. Of course the same low budget TV channels actively promote mermaids and alien encounters so a large boulder of salt should be taken with any reports.

I am always curious on those various TV shows on why they go to all the trouble to capture them live, it makes for great TV but they are a feral species regarded as a pest so its not like the captured animals are going to be relocated to another location or spend the rest of their lives in a wild pig preserve. I expect the reason they live capture them is shooting them where they are captured just doesn't get the ratings. In the near term I will be far more worried about far more prevalent potential killers like idiots driving while texting or talking obliviously on a cell phone.

On a somewhat more serious note, I expect the sustained cold and extended snowpack has probably knocked back a lot of species that have been extending northward in the region. I also think this winter is just about the ideal conditions that moose researchers have been wishing for as the extended snowpack will cause a big die off of the winter tick. We probably need a couple of winters of this type of weather but I expect if it occurs there will be a larger outmigration of folks from the northeast.

 

[Grey J]

I used to see them now and then in North Florida. They are becoming a significant problem in Tennessee. Check out the size of this one.
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/...ms-eradicating-wild-hogs-bledsoe-polk/295864/

 

[Brambor]

I wished the same but was told that the ticks survived. :-( bummer

Various TV low budget TV channels have given them a worse reputation of late and yes they are an issue to be managed in southern states. Of course the same low budget TV channels actively promote mermaids and alien encounters so a large boulder of salt should be taken with any reports.

I am always curious on those various TV shows on why they go to all the trouble to capture them live, it makes for great TV but they are a feral species regarded as a pest so its not like the captured animals are going to be relocated to another location or spend the rest of their lives in a wild pig preserve. I expect the reason they live capture them is shooting them where they are captured just doesn't get the ratings. In the near term I will be far more worried about far more prevalent potential killers like idiots driving while texting or talking obliviously on a cell phone.

On a somewhat more serious note, I expect the sustained cold and extended snowpack has probably knocked back a lot of species that have been extending northward in the region. I also think this winter is just about the ideal conditions that moose researchers have been wishing for as the extended snowpack will cause a big die off of the winter tick. We probably need a couple of winters of this type of weather but I expect if it occurs there will be a larger outmigration of folks from the northeast.

 

[Ed'n Lauky]

While we never encountered hogs up in NE, Lauky and I have had a couple of encounters down here while hiking the very remote Benton-Mackaye trail in TN. One encounter was very close but we managed to stay hidden until they grazed off. We recently met a couple of guys on the Bartram trail who told us they once were stalked by hogs while hiking the Benton-Mackaye trail. One guy said "Those hogs wouldn't play by the rules, they refused to be intimidated and kept coming after us. I don't know all the details but they made it to their truck which wasn't too far away. The locals here in GA have numerous stories of vicious attacks by feral hogs. I personally think they are best avoided if possible. I carry bear spray with me at all times now, more for the hogs than the bears.

 

[GrayBear]

About 3 years ago while working for the NH DOT we came across one that had been hit by a car on I-89 just south of Exit 10. it was a male about 60 to 70 lbs with some fairly nasty looking tusks. We called Fish and Game. They were fairly interested and sent a warden to pick it up. They're around but don't seem to be very prolific.