Palmetto Proving Grounds

If you ever need anybody to thin out the heard (no homo)

One of the ecologists at SRS told me that domestic pigs revert back to "wild" in as little as 3-4 generations. That's extremely fast. We have these things in Aiken County and I know a guy that traps them near lake Murray.

Could be worse. Could have feral children running around.

Interesting thread.

Kind of makes you wonder why the price of bacon is so high.

I was wondering if it was eatable...

In other news...I'm fascinated watching this helicopter hunt....check out around 4:17... a big one faceplants after taking it's metal meal!

From 2008, S.C. coastal area

Wild hogs have a variety of names and origins, but all of these prolific swine of the family Suidae have a couple of things in common - they are of a non-native species considered a nuisance by wildlife agencies and private landowners throughout the country.

The history of wild hogs in the U.S. coincides with the arrival of Europeans in North America. Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto is credited with first introducing them into what is now the United States in 1593 in Florida, according to www.extension.com.

The Web site notes that more introductions of hogs followed in the Carolinas and Georgia and soon free-ranging populations were established in the Southeast.

Through the years - even centuries - there has also been the inevitable escape or release of hogs or pigs into the wild from private owners, with some even intentionally released for hunting purposes.

The bottom line is there are plentiful populations of wild hogs on the roam in South Carolina and other states and they are largely unchecked except for hunting. All types of landowners, including farmers, and wildlife agencies would love to be rid of them.

Among those is Jamie Rader, Upper Coastal Waterfowl Project leader for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

Rader and his cohorts maintain areas for waterfowl habitat on a number of Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) in the state's upper coastal area, and hogs are wreaking havoc on their efforts.

The main problem is hogs are rooting around dikes and impoundments located near rivers that are designed to attract waterfowl.

"The dikes give us the ability to maintain the water level and vegetation [in the impoundments] to maximize waterfowl utilization and habitat," Rader said earlier this week.

Rader doesn't mince words when discussing the hogs and the aggravation they cause him on his waterfowl projects. He has called the damage the animals are doing to the dikes "extensive."

"They're a nuisance and they're not native to the area," Rader said. "They do damage by rooting on top of the dikes, causing problems with the infrastructure by rooting around water control structures, [which are] structures we install in the dikes to manipulate the water levels from the rivers inside the impoundment."

Hunters can help out during this month when two WMAs in Georgetown County will be available on selected days for archery hunts for hogs and deer.

Samworth WMA, which covers 1,588 acres, is located in northern Georgetown County on the Great Pee Dee River, while Santee Delta WMA is located between the North and South Santee rivers and covers 1,722 acres.

Rader would love to see hunters put a major dent in the wild hog population on both WMAs this month.

"I hope people can get a hog with every opportunity they can," Rader said. "Our main goal is for people who don't get the opportunity to get one on private land to have an area with the opportunity to harvest one. We have a lot of people that propagate them and release them. Hopefully through hunting we're regulating the population but with ongoing introduction it's an ongoing challenge."

The hunts will be Thursday through Saturday this month on the following dates: Oct. 9-11, 16-18 and 23-25. The first hunt got underway Thursday and continues today and Saturday.

Wildlife Management Area regulations will apply to the hog and deer hunts on Samworth and Santee Delta, which again are archery-only. Hunters will need a Wildlife Management Area permit in addition to a state hunting license and Big Game permit to participate in the hunts. There are no limits on the harvest of hogs but the limits on deer will be two per day, either sex.

No dogs will be allowed on these hunts and only impoundments may be hunted on Samworth Wildlife Management Area.

Rader notes that participating in the hunts is easy for hunters with the proper permits.

"Just show up and go hunting - there will be a sign-up sheet [at the check-in sites]," he said. "It's on the honor system. [They need to] sign out with their harvest, including hogs and deer."

I knew an old boy in Georgia around Milledgeville and he hunted hogs all the time. Like a poster above mentioned he used Pit Bulls that he trained. The Pit Bulls still had their tails...he said it gives them more balance.