CONSERVATION CORNER
For the week of December 25, 2006
The Wild Hog In Mississippi
by James L. Cummins

The wild hog is both loved by some and hated by others. For many of Mississippi's wildlife enthusiasts and landowners, including myself, it provides a challenging hunting experience and some of the best table fare this side of the Mississippi. For others, it causes thousands of dollars in damage to crops and out competes many native species of wildlife for valuable food resources. In this article, I will explore the history, biology and management of one of the most controversial games species found in the Magnolia State with one of Wildlife Mississippi's biologists, Daniel Coggin.

According to Coggin, "The first wild hogs in the state can be traced back to Hernando De Soto. De Soto brought along with him a herd of swine. De Soto's expedition traveled through Mississippi from 1539 to 1541. Along the way, swine escaped, were traded and/or taken by the natives. It is from these animals that our first feral populations were established."

Pierre le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville, a French explorer, brought swine along with other livestock to what is present day Biloxi in 1699. Swine from d'Iberville's herds later spread throughout southern Mississippi and Louisiana according to Coggin.

A common practice of the day was to allow the swine roam free until the fall when it was necessary to capture them for slaughter. However, many of these animals escaped to the deep swamps and river bottoms where they roamed wild. Spurred on by releases and their prolific breeding, the wild hog is now found in at least 65 of Mississippi's 82 counties.

One of the primary concerns that land mangers and wildlife biologist have concerning the wild hog is its ability to destroy crops and native habitats. Studies have shown that in areas with high hog populations, that 85-98 percent of the native understory plant species can be destroyed by the hog's feeding and rooting behavior. They have been shown to out-compete other wildlife for hard and soft mast crops and are notorious for destroying food plots planted for deer, turkey and other wildlife. An adult wild hog can eat over 160 lbs. of mast during a winter period.

According to Coggin, to effectively control a wild hog population, one needs to remove 75 percent of the population per year. One effective way to accomplish this is through trapping. There are many different styles and types of traps used to capture hogs with the most common being a 4'x 8' heavy duty cage trap. Traps are usually baited with sour corn, milo or sweet potatoes. Traps have even been baited with fish that worked very effectively. One important point to remember about baiting traps is that no matter what you bait with, one must remember that to bait a trap during hunting season can be considered baiting, resulting in a ticket and fine. To avoid this, it is best to wait until after all hunting seasons are closed before trapping. It is also a good idea to inform your local conservation officer of your efforts.

Another trapping method not widely used to capture hogs is with snares. Snares are very effective when used under fences in heavily traveled areas. However, catching a hog with a snare usually means that the hog will have to be killed there on the spot. Also, the hog will do considerable amount of damage to the fence once caught.