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rootball
07-27-2008, 19:46
I have seen boar in the Smokies and thought they were kinda big, but not really that scary - Of course I know they are dangerous. But this weekend on a section of Benton Mckaye Trail close to Farr Gap I saw a big black sow with piglets. She was so big that it scared the crap out of me. I would have guessed 400 pounds, but then I did some research online and it does not seem that they ordinarily get that big. She was so big that her body looked liked a small hippo. And when she saw me, just before her and the piglets took off down the hill, she looked right at me. Her face was more like that of a domestic pig - actually she had a sweet face, sorta pretty for a pig.
The size of her put the fear of god in me. You could not outrun that. And when it caught you.... no stick in the world would be big enough to beat that thing off you.
The piglets were typical brown and tan stripe, but I did not really get much more than a glimpse of their rear ends.

Cuffs
07-27-2008, 20:05
But whats the question?

rootball
07-27-2008, 20:16
Could this be one of those pigs that is the offspring of a domestic pig and a wild pig? Like Pigzilla - there was a tv show about a giant pig that some dude shot and claimed it weighed 800 pounds or something.

When I first saw the shape and color in the brush I thought it was a bear. I really would guess-timate that it weighed close to 400 lbs.

Odd Thomas
07-27-2008, 20:20
Oh man, that's a lot of boar bacon!

greentick
07-27-2008, 20:20
I think all of the feral hogs are offspring of domestics from somewhere up the line. If I remember correctly a domestic cut loose in the woods will turn black due to the change in diet. One of my dogs got gored by one a few weeks ago, not pretty.

They are fast but I dont think they corner well;)

Cuffs
07-27-2008, 20:25
There is documentation of domestic pigs becoming feral within 1 generation. Their color changes, hair grows longer/darker... The biologists found it odd that a species can return to such rudimentary living in such a short time. (now that I think of it, where did I read that info?)

Found the article... The pig itself can return to feral in two years. Not generationally. If you research the pigs of the Channel Islands, you will find the info. They were eradicated to return the islands to their natural state...

Hogzilla... wild hogs do get big. Ive got tusks of one I harvested from FL a few years ago... they are 4" long! Ive also seen them gut a baying dog on the spot. The largest one Ive seen was pushing 400#, but we live trapped them for $$. Yes, they can be dangerous, they say the best way out is up a tree... good luck with that with a 30# pack on!

Hammock Hanger
07-27-2008, 20:28
We have wild hogs all over FL. I saw one once that was so big it looked like a cow with it's legs cut off. HUGE!!! Most I have come across are your average size but there are some mutant biggies.

I awoke one night with a sow and her piglets digging under my hammock. Thank God she was not one of the big ones.

My friend awoke one night to a boar snuggled up next to her. The only thing between them was the silk of the tent. Was she scared ****less!!

Pedaling Fool
07-27-2008, 20:38
...Found the article... The pig itself can return to feral in two years. Not generationally. If you research the pigs of the Channel Islands, you will find the info. They were eradicated to return the islands to their natural state...
I've also heard they will soon start growing those menacing tusks upon becoming feral.

I've never seen a feral pig/boar, but would be very concerned for my safety if I did run into one.

Nearly Normal
07-27-2008, 21:25
You be wary of any grown hog. A big boar or a sow with pigs. Try to place yourself where you can get away or keep something between you and it.

piglet-newborn to 3 weeks
weaner- 3 weeks old to be weaned(feeder pig)
Pig or shoat- less than 120 pounds
Gilt- a female that hasn't farrowed (given birth)
Barrow- male that has been castrated (market hog)
Boar- adult Male
Sow -Adult female

A drift is a group of domesticated swine
a founder is a group of wild swine

My Grandfather would buy 200 feeder pigs in the late summer. He had a 120 acre place fenced that was a combo of farm fields (peanuts and corn) and woods with mostly mast trees. There was a good branch of water on it too. He would plant the winter fields in clover and rye for soil conservation and turn his few cows on it for a winter pasture.
He would buy the pigs just after the fields had been harvested and winterized and turn the pigs out.
3 times a week for the first 3 weeks we would drive into the field and locate a drift. He would blow the truck horn a few times while I broadcast a hamper of corn to the drift.
After a couple of trips when the pigs heared the horn they would race to the truck.
After the first 3 weeks we would only feed them 1 time a week until spring. They rooted up a good living in the woods and gleaned the harvested fields.
He had a big catch pen built at the edge of a field in the woods where we would feed them that once a week feeding until spring when the fields would be turned for planting. (just left the gate open for them to come and go)
The last feeding they would all gather in the catch pen to eat and be caught.
It was a good way to top off 200 hundred pigs cheap. They would weigh over 200 hundred lbs each and that was usually the biggest profit he turned all year. Us kids would walk the fence frequently to make sure it was sound. We hunted the place everyday but Sunday during "season".

I don't ever remember getting less than 195 back each year. Most of the time we only "lost" 2 or 3.
Once in a while one would turn up somewhere else. You could tell by the way the he notched the ear for ID purposes.
Folks don't know too much about that kind of small farming anymore.
You could probably get big money rasing hogs like that now.
They would call it "free range" and "natural". :cool:
My Grandparents worked in the cotton mill and farmed on the side. Everyone helped out in some way.
We always fattened 2 of those hogs in a pen for the freezer. They was good to eat and you knew what was in them.
Sorry for the rant.
Anyway It don't take long for hogs to go wild.
They are a damned menace.

Nearly Normal
(Occasional)

Bare Bear
07-27-2008, 23:03
You can tell the poster is a hiker when he describes a pig as "pretty". Get to town soon brother.

Ramble~On
07-28-2008, 01:13
Years ago there was a hunting ranch up near Hooper Bald. "Exoctic" animals were brought in as were folks willing to shell out $$ to hunt them.
Russian Boar were among the animals brought in...they escaped and all the animals are gone but the boar remain..in fact they've done very well and their numbers are out of control.
Farr Gap is only a few miles as the crow flies from Hooper Bald.
I'm not sure if the boar have bred with other pigs or if there's still a population of true Russian Boar running around.
-- They're pests and they roto-till the forests to death.
As with any wild animals with young you don't want to get between a mother and her little ones.
I have not heard of anyone reporting being attacked by pigs. Boar have been known to attack dogs though
They are out there...growing in size and number...waiting...waiting for the day when they decide to make their move.:D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A46Ndk-ru0U&feature=related < Stupid people messing with boar and bleeding

http://www.huntingsociety.org/Boarinfo.html < Information about boar from a hunting site

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bDEqF48U-A < ? looks like safe hunting with Dick Cheney -HILARIOUS !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rE8MQ-QEqg&NR=1 < Hunter photos with big boar

trouthunter
07-28-2008, 01:37
Just wanted to verify the hogzilla story. We had a ol boy north of here kill and bury a huge boar. When nobody believed his story about how big the thing was, he dug it up and the local paper picked up the story, rest is history.
I'll try to find the article and post the boars weight.

Ramble~On
07-28-2008, 01:46
Just wanted to verify the hogzilla story. We had a ol boy north of here kill and bury a huge boar. When nobody believed his story about how big the thing was, he dug it up and the local paper picked up the story, rest is history.
I'll try to find the article and post the boars weight.

Actually...they did a documentary and while the boar was decomposed the remains were measured, weighed, examined and it was determined that it was a very big pig. I really don't care what the weight was...that thing was huge. It's said that boar eat everything..including the bones so if you're attacked by one they'll never find you....:D

trouthunter
07-28-2008, 01:46
The boar that was buried and dug up was killed by a guy in Georgia, it weighed 1000 lbs.
At least a second boar was also taken in Alabama, weighing over 1000 lbs.
This is a link to info I found on the web with a picture of the second boar
it looks like a mini cooper!
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8PBKB5G0&show_article=1&image=large

trouthunter
07-28-2008, 01:48
SpiritWind,
Who aired the documentary, do you remember?

Ramble~On
07-28-2008, 02:15
SpiritWind,
Who aired the documentary, do you remember?

No. Sorry but it's been on more than once.
I'll look around and see if I can't find it.

In the meantime...I take her with me hiking so I'm not worried about hogs:cool:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJQKmCT4XL0&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM1MTXZ9cxk&feature=related

trouthunter
07-28-2008, 02:20
HaHa, nice chick, hope there's a table and chair in the woods though

Ramble~On
07-28-2008, 02:30
SpiritWind,
Who aired the documentary, do you remember?

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/03/0322_050322_hogzilla.html

It was none other than the fine folks at National Geographic.

800 pound hog, 18 inch tusks and 8 feet long....it was real but not as big as they had said...also there's doubt as to it being a wild hog... I can't imagine why a hunter with such a trophy would bury the entire thing...including the tusks!.

drastic_quench
07-28-2008, 02:43
The boar that was buried and dug up was killed by a guy in Georgia, it weighed 1000 lbs.
At least a second boar was also taken in Alabama, weighing over 1000 lbs.
This is a link to info I found on the web with a picture of the second boar
it looks like a mini cooper!
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8PBKB5G0&show_article=1&image=large
That was a canned hunt, and the measurements of the pig were unverified. The photo was also digitally manipulated.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster_Pig

Plodderman
07-28-2008, 07:25
That is true in that it was a manipulated photo.

The hogs are destroying parts of the Smokies.

Mrs Baggins
07-28-2008, 07:37
Couple of years ago I was day hiking with a couple of friends from Keys Gap to Harpers Ferry. We were on that last mile of trail into town and there's an old building on the left side of the trail, painted kind of like a weird circus. We were standing there looking at the building and trying to figure out what it could have been when we heard a lot of noise in the bushes next to it. It got louder and very "snuffling" sounding but we couldn't see anything. Then dirt, rocks, and leaves were suddenly being tossed high in the air with lots of grunting sounds. We looked at each other, yelled "Boar!" and ran as fast we could all the way to Jefferson Rock! We never did see it but there's no doubt in our minds what it was. I'd hiked through there many times and had no idea there were wild pigs in that area! My big fear after that was that a family with small children would come through there someday and run headlong into one.

Lone Wolf
07-28-2008, 07:40
I have seen boar in the Smokies and thought they were kinda big, but not really that scary - Of course I know they are dangerous. But this weekend on a section of Benton Mckaye Trail close to Farr Gap I saw a big black sow with piglets. She was so big that it scared the crap out of me. I would have guessed 400 pounds, but then I did some research online and it does not seem that they ordinarily get that big. She was so big that her body looked liked a small hippo. And when she saw me, just before her and the piglets took off down the hill, she looked right at me. Her face was more like that of a domestic pig - actually she had a sweet face, sorta pretty for a pig.
The size of her put the fear of god in me. You could not outrun that. And when it caught you.... no stick in the world would be big enough to beat that thing off you.
The piglets were typical brown and tan stripe, but I did not really get much more than a glimpse of their rear ends.

what is your question?

ed bell
07-28-2008, 07:42
what is your question?He forgot to ask it in the first post. Here it is:http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showpost.php?p=673113&postcount=3

rootball
07-28-2008, 09:28
That was a cool 'rant' as you call it. That sounds like it would have been a really good childhood.

Nearly Normal
07-28-2008, 13:31
That is true in that it was a manipulated photo.

The hogs are destroying parts of the Smokies.

Hiking the Smokies and killing feral hogs would be a great job after retirement. Where do I sign up.

sheepdog
07-28-2008, 13:51
Folks don't know too much about that kind of small farming anymore.
You could probably get big money rasing hogs like that now.
They would call it "free range" and "natural". :cool:
My Grandparents worked in the cotton mill and farmed on the side. Everyone helped out in some way.
We always fattened 2 of those hogs in a pen for the freezer. They was good to eat and you knew what was in them.
Sorry for the rant.
Anyway It don't take long for hogs to go wild.
They are a damned menace.

Nearly Normal
(Occasional)
Cool story.:)

trouthunter
07-28-2008, 14:26
We have feral hogs in the swamps here, most don't get over 300 lbs. I beleive.

Yeah the photo I posted a link to did look a little funny.

LOT OF BACON! I just hope it wasn't a "trophy only" kill, I'm ok with hunting for food to put in your freezer, and it is true that populations do get out of control.

Ramble~On
07-28-2008, 15:34
Hiking the Smokies and killing feral hogs would be a great job after retirement. Where do I sign up.

The park used to hire locals to hunt the hogs in the park...and they were allowed to keep the meat. Then they stopped that practice and began live trapping them and moving them out of the park (into Citico and Slickrock) which was an even dumber idea. Now there are a select few rangers who hunt and shoot the hogs in the park..and they leave them to rot were they fall.

http://www.jstor.org/pss/3800976 < Article on the effects of pigs on Beech forests in GSMNP.

Pedaling Fool
07-28-2008, 15:42
...and they leave them to rot were they fall.

http://www.jstor.org/pss/3800976 < Article on the effects of pigs on Beech forests in GSMNP.
I'm sure the bears appreciate the free meal.

taildragger
07-28-2008, 15:44
I hate pigs, I've had an ~250lbs sow charge me before. I had a friend turkey hunting in florida that got charged by a 300lbs boar.

If I can, I kill em where I see 'em. They're good eatens too, just gotta cook them real well.

Newb
07-28-2008, 15:45
If attacked by a board shimmy up a tree.

Pedaling Fool
07-28-2008, 15:46
If attacked by a board shimmy up a tree.
Good advice, but what if a boar attacks you.

Knocky
07-28-2008, 17:44
I hunt hogs for sport and meat. When we find them on our hunting lease in South West GA, or on the farms here around my home, we make a concerted effort to kill every boar, momma hog and piglet we can find. Mostly this is done at night over feed, and with spot lights.
Left to their own devices, feral hogs will destroy a farm or hunting lease. They are not particularly dangerous to humans, but they are not to be messed with if you are not armed.

taildragger
07-28-2008, 18:37
I hunt hogs for sport and meat. When we find them on our hunting lease in South West GA, or on the farms here around my home, we make a concerted effort to kill every boar, momma hog and piglet we can find. Mostly this is done at night over feed, and with spot lights.
Left to their own devices, feral hogs will destroy a farm or hunting lease. They are not particularly dangerous to humans, but they are not to be messed with if you are not armed.

Lucky, we cannot use lights on them without attaining special permits (spotlighting on the prairie is a big deal to some locals, hence why the use of any lights is pretty much forbidden here...)

TIDE-HSV
07-28-2008, 19:33
I think that's "have destroyed," in the case of the balds. And, in answer to whether or not there are Russian boars, "no." They are all mixed in with feral domestic pigs, and there have been DNA studies verifying it. However, as noted above, pigs revert anatomically so quickly, it hardly matters. Years ago, like 15-20, there was an article in Backpacker on domestic hogs in California which had become feral. From the pix, you couldn't tell the difference from a wild boar. Their snouts had elongated and the tusks had grown and they looked like wild stock...

Del Q
07-28-2008, 21:37
A few thoughts come to mind, I belive that "1000 Pound Hogzilla" is actually Sasquatch's pet. Loveable creature.

I am now bringing a shovel with me on the AT, if I ever see anything like that and you walk upon me (dead from a heart-attack), please bury me where I lay, with the shovel.

Ramble~On
07-28-2008, 21:42
I'm sure the bears appreciate the free meal.

I think the whole "native" food chain benefits..The park is big on getting rid of "invasive" plants and animals.

Plodderman
07-28-2008, 21:43
Hiking the Smokies and killing feral hogs would be a great job after retirement. Where do I sign up.


Last year they told us that they hired a couple people to hunt them but it was a difficult hunt. They tried traps but now I think guns are the answer.

Bare Bear
07-28-2008, 23:17
You guys need to come down and hike the Florida Trail. You will see at least one really big pig somewhere. I saw several and one was along a 'rails to trails' section that was practically suburbs! Scared the crap out of me for a few seconds until I could see what it was. It exploded up out of a bog five feet? away from me and hauled tail into the woods. Of course you may not see another hiker for days on the FT. It is not the AT in any way.
LW should love it. Only a few shelters, no Trail magic.

Lone Wolf
07-28-2008, 23:22
You guys need to come down and hike the Florida Trail. You will see at least one really big pig somewhere. I saw several and one was along a 'rails to trails' section that was practically suburbs! Scared the crap out of me for a few seconds until I could see what it was. It exploded up out of a bog five feet? away from me and hauled tail into the woods. Of course you may not see another hiker for days on the FT. It is not the AT in any way.
LW should love it. Only a few shelters, no Trail magic.

i have a friend who has a camp in the glades. it borders the micosukee res. and great cypress preserve. gators, pigs, turkey and deer are plentiful. gator and pig are yummy. we used to do hobocentral swamp days there

Bare Bear
07-28-2008, 23:25
I started the FT Christmas Day 05 and all I could think of was the story about the snake that had eaten a gator! Here I was waist deep at times in it...............cold, lonely stuff. I met a guy that was going out for a week bushwacking, very little food. He said he liked to get his own in the swamps. He claimed to be a stockbroker and it was his way of regaining sanity. The Big Cypress is still wild.

IceAge
07-29-2008, 10:28
.
You could probably get big money raising hogs like that now.
They would call it "free range" and "natural". :cool:

Nearly Normal
(Occasional)

You are correct. I raise a few hogs every year and I get a damned good price for them because they are "pasture-raised" and "naturally grown". I have never advertised but I sell out of hogs every year just on word of mouth, even though I ask more than triple what you would pay in a grocery store.

Newb
07-29-2008, 11:49
Good advice, but what if a boar attacks you.

then you're screwed

taildragger
07-29-2008, 12:16
then you're screwed

So, if its a board, you climb a tree (I assume to rub it in).

But if its a boar, then you're screwed.

Shouldn't it be that your screwed if its the board, and climb a tree if its a boar, but would that just make it all a bore :banana

Appalachian Tater
07-31-2008, 15:44
Bare Bear, watch out for those feral pigs, they are very smart and can be really dangerous--I would worry more about them than a bear with cubs.