Wild Pig Home

Informational Videos​

Management of invasive Wild Pigs is arguably one of the greatest wildlife management challenges facing natural resource professionals and landowners today. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is dedicated to the full eradication of wild pigs in Kentucky. To succ​eed, multitudes of partners work together in Kentucky and throughout the United States. Partners are unified in their message despite the unique challenges that face different geographical areas. 

Is it a Wild Pig?

Wild pigs show significant color, body shape, and size variability. Most wild pigs are black or brown, but any color or combination of colors can occur. In Kentucky, adult pigs usually weigh between 75-250 pounds. Piglets can be striped, spotted, or a solid color. Due to varied ancestry, some wild pigs have physical traits similar to Eurasian wild boar, such as long coarse hair, broad shoulders, and grizzled coat coloration. In contrast, others physically resemble domestic pigs or a combination of traits. Regardless of their ancestry, all pigs are an exotic, invasive species when living on Kentucky’s landscape.

 Pot Belly Pig in a gravel parking lot - Photo Credit: Jamison Standard

Trail Cam showing a wild pig in a forest - Photo Credit: Scott Smith

Wild Pig Information​​

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History

Biology

​Physical Characteristics

Wild Pig Signs

Habitat

Food Preferences

History of Wild Pigs in America

Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are not native to Kentucky or North America. Their establishment in the southeastern United States dates back to the 1500’s. Early European explorers brought domestic pigs with them as livestock for their settlements. The historic practice of allowing pigs to range freely encouraged the spread and establishment of wild pigs throughout the southeastern United States.

 

 

​ Photo Credit: USDA Wildlife Services

Wild Pig Biology

Wild pigs are extremely adaptable and can thrive in a variety of habitats. They eat almost anything, robbing our native wildlife of food and often preying on native animals as well. What’s most concerning, however, is their vigorous reproductive potential. In favorable habitat conditions, sows can breed as young as five to ten months old, and are capable of producing litters of 3-8 piglets twice a year! Leaving just a few females on the landscape can quickly result in a huge population increase.

Multiple generations of related females (sows) and piglets l​ive in groups called “sounders”. By living in these sounders pig employ a safety-in-numbers strategy. Males leave the sounder around 12 to 16 months of age. These sub-adult males may associate in smaller familial groups, while mature males (boars) tend to be more solitary. Boars temporarily join sounders to breed. Understanding this aspect of their biology is key to implementing effective population control.

Wild pigs are secretive in nature, often hiding during the day in thick cover. They have excellent hearing and sense of smell and typically avoid human contact. When faced with danger, their general response is to run away. However, if cornered or defending their young, wild pigs can be aggressive.

Wild pigs are extremely adaptable and able to thrive in a variety of habitat types. Habitat preferences include dense cover for shelter and concealment, coupled with permanent water sources. Bottomland forests and riparian areas along rivers and streams are the ideal habitat for wild pigs. Riparian areas are often used as travel corridors.

The home range of a wild pig is reported to vary from a few hundred to thousands of acres. Factors influencing home range size include the availability of food, quality of the habitat, number of pigs in an area, and human disturbance. Increased human activity will shift the movement of wild pigs, causing their home ranges to constrict or expand. More importantly, seasonal changes in food availability and abundance, as well as temperature influence home ranges.

Wild pigs may be active at any time of the day. Numerous factors including human activity, food availability, and season may influence when they are most active. Disturbances associated with human activity, especially hunting pressure, is often sufficient to shift the movement patterns of pigs and make them nocturnal. Conversely, in times of food scarcity pigs may need to forage additional hours of the day and forage more widely regardless of other factors. Seasonally, extreme temperatures during the summer months generally result in pigs becoming nocturnal to avoid heat stress.

Food Preferences

The diet of wild pigs is classified as “omnivorous”, which means that they can and will eat almost any organic substance that is available. As a result, wild pigs can quickly establish themselves due to their ability to adapt to almost any food source. Vegetation dominates a pig’s diet, but animal prey is also common.

Wild pigs primarily feed by “rooting” or turning over the topsoil in search of roots, tubers, and invertebrates. They use an incredible sense of smell to locate food. In addition to rooting, wild pigs will graze, scavenge, and predate.

Seasonal changes in their diets greatly influences their selection of habitats. In the fall, for example, hard mast (i.e. acorns and hickory nuts) is a very common food item. Likewise, wild pigs consume the eggs and chicks of ground-nesting birds in the spring. Due to their affinity for wetlands and river corridors, wild pigs share habitat with many amphibian species, which they opportunistically feed upon. Amphibian populations can suffer severe losses in areas with high wild pig numbers. Unfortunately, the feeding habits and associated behaviors of wild pigs often results in extensive damage to agriculture, ornamental plantings, native wildlife, and their habitat. It is this adaptability, coupled with continued illegal releases for hunting opportunities, that has resulted in rapidly emerging populations throughout the United States.

 

 

Photo Credit: Jon MacGregor

 

 

Photo Credit: USDA Wildlife Services

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Damage to Habitats​

Damage to Forests

Wild pigs destroy forests by pulling up tree seedlings, eating acorns, rooting up plants, and creating wallows. 

Damage to Ecosystem

Wild pigs are considered "ecosystem engineers" because they can change their environment. They damage native ecosystems, including wetlands, forests, and prairies. They cause a decrease in biological diversity and facilitate the spread of invasive plants.

Damage to Wetlands

Wild pigs alter the water quality of wetlands through fecal deposition and wallowing. The increase in turbidity and siltation creates unfavorable conditions for many aquatic species.

​  WILD PIGs harm Ky's wildlife​​​​​

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Wild pigs prey on eggs and chicks of ground-nesting birds, such as turkey, quail, grouse, woodcock, and various songbirds.

Wild pigs are especially fond of acorns, which many species rely on as a major food source in the fall. They raid acorn caches of squirrels, leaving them without food in the winter.

Wild pigs displace white-tailed deer and wild turkey. Deer and turkey cannot compete with wild pigs. When pigs are present, deer and turkeys leave the area.

Wild pigs also prey on amphibians and reptiles, which are declining worldwide due to various strains of deadly fungal diseases and habitat loss.

Rooting

Wild pigs primarily feed by “rooting” or turning over the topsoil in search of roots, tubers, and invertebrates. They use an incredible sense of smell to locate food. Rooting often resembles a garden tiller. It usually covers a large area. 

 Rooting damage in an open field.

Rooting damage in a field with crops.

Wallows​

Wild pigs create wallows in wet areas to get relief from biting insects and heat from the sun.

Wild pigs do not sweat and rely on shaded bedding areas and water to stay calm, especially during hot summer. “Wallowing,” literally rolling in mud and water, allows wild pigs to keep cool while ridding themselves of biting insects. As pigs rub off the mud and parasites, trees near these wallows will become coated with mud. 

​  WILD PIGs Displace
native game species

Wild pigs displace white-tailed deer and wild turkey. When pigs are present, deer and turkeys leave the area.

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Damage to Agriculture

Wild pigs cause extensive damage to crops, food plots, and hayfields. They can destroy many acres overnight, devastating agricultural producers. They can transmit diseases to livestock, kill young livestock, and contaminate livestock feed. Their rooting behavior can also create holes or ruts in fields that damage farm equipment, cause soil erosion, and lead to stream sedimentation. Wild pigs cause over $1.5 billion in agricultural damage in the U.S. annually.​

 

 

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