Wild pig

Wild pigs live in groups called sounders, made up of related females and their young; adult males usually travel alone and join sounders to mate. They are highly intelligent, learn quickly and change their habits when disturbed, becoming more active at night where they are hunted.

They root through the soil with their snouts for food, and wallow in mud to cool off and protect their skin, as they have no sweat glands.

In the Southeast their ancestors include pigs brought by Spanish expeditions in the 1500s, later domestic pigs that went wild, and Eurasian wild boar released for hunting.

Wild pigs are intelligent, sociable animals with deep family bonds, and their ability to thrive almost anywhere is a mark of how capable they are.

They are also an introduced animal whose rooting damages farmland, forest floors, wetlands and the nests of ground-nesting birds and turtles, and which can spread diseases to livestock, pets and people. That problem was made by people moving pigs; the animals are living as pigs do.

Breeding — all year, often with peaks in winter and summer
Gestation — about 114 days
Litter — usually four to eight piglets, born in a grass nest
Weaning — at about three months old
Maturity — females can breed at six to eight months old
Litters per year — up to two
Lifespan — several years

• Never feed wild pigs; it draws them close to homes and makes them bolder.
• Keep dogs away from wild pigs; a cornered pig or a sow with piglets can injure a dog seriously.
• Wear gloves when handling a dead wild pig; they can carry diseases such as brucellosis.
• Secure rubbish, pet food and compost to keep them from visiting.

• Wild pigs are native wildlife. They are descended from pigs brought by people.
• Wild pigs are stupid. They are among the most intelligent animals in the forest.
• Wild pigs are villains. They are pigs, living where people put them.

• White-tailed deer
• American black bear
• Virginia opossum