When we hear the word “predator,” most of us have thoughts of coyotes, bobcats and the like. But this week I want to talk about the ultimate predator - one not often considered to be a predator at all.
I'm talking about wild, or feral, hogs, quite likely the worst predator in south Mississippi. Wild hogs are considered opportunistic omnivores, which means they can and do eat almost anything they come across, from swamp vegetation to agricultural crops to quail eggs to turkey eggs to fawns. That's right; I said “fawns,” as in “baby deer.”
Don't believe it? Well, how about this. Once while deer hunting with my bow in Greene County, I stuck a hog and climbed down from my stand to trail it. By then it was near dark and I lost the blood trail. It was a stupid thing to do, I know, but I followed fresh tracks into a thicket, thinking the tracks were made by my hog.
Bad mistake!
The brush was so thick that I was down to crawling on hands and knees when I came face-to-face with a big sow, certainly not the pig I had shot. Thankfully, I scared the sow ALMOST as much as she scared me (don't say much for my looks, does it?). Nonetheless, she lit out one way and I the other, the only difference being that she didn't have to pull out the Charmin.
What I saw when I startled the old sow was most alarming. She was enjoying a meal of fresh, bloody venison, that of a spotted fawn she had most likely stumbled upon in its bed. Because it was early bow season, it's quite possible the fawn was only a few days old when the sow found it. Needless to say, I ended my search for the pig with an arrow in it.
Still, if you're a deer, turkey, quail or other game hunter, it would be in your best interest to also become a hog hunter, too, even in the off-season. Ninety percent of what feral hogs eat is vegetation, but the other 10 percent will include deer, not to mention turkey and quail eggs. Just as bad, the critters often destroy game habitat.
But don't think you'll get rid of 'em all; it'll have to be an ongoing thing. After all, feral hogs are the most prolific large mammals in North America. Sows as young as six months old have been known to breed and have as many as 12 piglets twice a year. And not only do they deprive you of wild game and birds, at last count, hogs cost billions of dollars in damage to food plots, farm crops, forests, levees and even golf courses.
So, sportsmen and women, get out and do what you can to alleviate the hog problem, not only during the game seasons … because wild hogs can be taken legally all year long.
I have two good friends (hard to believe, ain't it?) that are doing their part. Chip Tatum of Hattiesburg and Earl (the Pearl) Sellers of Purvis are both notorious hog slayers. The Chipster kills 'em all over the state, while The Pearl works a number on the feral hogs at Longleaf Plantation where he pretends to work. Keep it up, guys.
Until next time, get out, kill a few hogs so we can still enjoy what Mississippi's great outdoors has to offer. Oh, and when you go, be safe, have fun and take a kid with you … every time you can.
The PineBelt News outdoor writer Phil DiFatta may be reached at pdifatta@hotmail.com for stories and photos. Photos, with contact info, my also be sent by text to 601-596-4475.
