https://www.krgv.com/news/feral-hog-control-8-years-some-progress-2-5b-damage-year

Luckily we have very few in Wisconsin.. 'Hard enough to grow trees without these pests.

The damage they can do has to be seen to be believed!!!

Unreal

... population is down around here for the first time since I can remember

A few now! But, not for long!

I'm not talking about Wild Boars but doesn't a domestic pig undergo rapid morphological changes upon not being in captivity and released in the wild... does anyone understand the genetics of this?

That's what they say. Not of the individual pig mind you but a generational thing with each generation reverting more and more to the wild type.

But it's not an absolute one way trip as I've seen everything from looking like the wild boars I saw in Germany to looking like barnyard Hampshire or Poland Chinas.

I imagine it's comparable to a flock of yard bird chickens. If you start with nothing but leghorns they'll look like leghorns for long time but let them mix with the neighbors mixed breeds eventually you'll get a bunch of black breasted red wild type coloring and anything in between..

In other words the wild genes are there all along in all breeds of domestic stock but they stay in the background as long as we selectively breed away from them. Unselected the default wild type comes back.

BTW, many if not most of the traits we breed for are naturally recessive traits, such as white in poultry.

Our hogs in Louisiana for the most part have been here since 1900 and are not related to the havoc wreaking ones in Texas. There are some in North Louisiana that are likely to be related but the hog numbers are down drastically from even 5 years ago.

They just grow more hair. Feral and Eurasian hogs will do the same things, root up everything. I've taken feral hogs that look like hairy Hampshires and some that look like Russian boars.

I’m glad some numbers are down, ours aren’t. They are fair game 24/7 and in some areas even from the highway. We have them in every color possible. Black, white, black and white, red, speckled, you name it they’re out there. Heck some idiot even released a potbelly that’s been wondering around a couple of years…he will no longer be seen or posted with the caption with pics of “who’s baby is this wondering around such and such road?” When it ends up in the middle of 2500ac rooting quail habitat, it finds its permanent home. I hate hogs and their destruction they cause. If a hog shows up on a deer hunt, it becomes a hog hunt. Same with a turkey hunt.
Wild hogs are some smart critters. While their eyesight and hearing may not be the best, that nose makes up for it. Y’all talk about coyotes being sensitive to human scent, let a hog hit a 6 hour old trail you walked in on and they’ll turn inside out getting out of there. It almost seems for everyone we trap, catch, or kill, three more takes its place. It’s just like any other predator, it’s a constant battle to keep their numbers in check. They’re so bad I don’t even care if I have an “ethical” shot, my goal is to just put holes in them and hope they die. A 12ga with 00Buck works well on a close sounder. 3 shots will have 27-36 projectiles heading downrange and I’m hoping I get at least one in every hog in the sounder. For those that say they “wish they had hogs” I’m here to tell you, NO YOU DON’T.