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Looking back at Wild Boar in Texas
27 Looking back at Wild Boar
By Gayne C. Young
“Today we camped at Tejocote Creek, having traveled 14 miles; the pigs found at this place were as big as a five- or six-months calf.” — Jose Enrique de la Pena, 1836
“The wild hog also is frequently met with, and, although it has never been known to make a voluntary attack upon a man, yet, when provoked, it is a very furious and formidable animal. These hogs are descended from the domestic swine, and have become wild by running at large in the woods.” — Mary Austin Holley, 1836
Feral hogs have been in Texas so long and are so prolific that most people forget that they’re not indigenous to the state.
There are an estimated two million feral hogs in Texas, and even Texas Parks and Wildlife Department admits this number is probably on the low end.
Hogs are second only to whitetails in terms of game hunted in the state.
In Texas, feral hogs are of a mixed — if not completely complicated — lineage. They are descendants of escaped European domesticated hogs, as well as European wild hogs released for sport hunting by early settlers.
With erect dorsal hair that resembles a Mohawk, sharp, protruding tusks, and an almost indestructible hide, many argue that Russian boars must be included in the mix somewhere, as well. While this matter is highly contested, in Texas the term “Russian” has become a synonym for hogs with these characteristics.
Feral hogs roam throughout the state, inhabiting almost every type of topography, but seem to be most prolific in the eastern and southern portions of the state. Regardless of where they live, evidence of their existence is easy to find due to the destruction they leave in their path.
Hogs are a combination of bulldozer and garbage disposal.
They will eat almost anything, including crops, browse, forbs, roots, fruit, small animals and carrion.
They can destroy fields by rooting for food or by creating shallow depressions called wallows. They can eliminate such ground-nesting species as quail and turkeys from an area by destroying nests and nesting sites and can destroy fences traveling to their next destination.
Hogs in Texas vary in weight and height due to the numerous bloodlines and breeds in the mix but most stand at or around less than 40 inches and weigh between 100 to 300 pounds. Hogs of between 400 to 700 pounds are not unheard of although the latter is fairly rare.
With such large size, razor type tusks, and an unstoppable tenacity, hog hunting in Texas can be an extremely exciting — or nerve-racking — undertaking. Some hunters compound the rush by hunting with dogs and either handgun or knife (yes, knife).
For those not looking for quite as much excitement, hunting from stands, over water holes, or by spot and stalk are the most common methods.
DEER HISTORY
that the average number of deer legally taken in the state is close to what the population of the entire country was in 1900. In fact, in some areas of the state, deer are actually dangerously overpopulated.
What whitetails eat is partially determined by where they live. In the Hill Country for example, deer graze twice as much as they browse. Over 67% of their feeding time is spent eating grasses and forbs. In South Texas, the numbers are almost reversed.
Deer browse twice as much as they graze. Percentages and diet are altered considerably when supplemental feeding and land management are entered into the equation.
Just as with their diet, whitetail weight is heavily determined by where deer live. Deer in the Eastern portion of the state and in the Hill Country tend to be smaller in body than those in South Texas or on the upper plains.
In general, though, whitetail average from between 70 to 150 pounds.
In terms of color, whitetails are grayish brown or grayish blue in winter with their coat taking on a reddish-brown tinge in winter. Under parts are lighter in color, if not white.
True to their name, whitetails have a white tail that stands erect when fleeing danger. Antlers grow outward from the back of the head before curling slightly forward. Each tine grows off a main beam.
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