Pig Bomb: A Growing Number of Wild Pigs Has Scientists Worried

This article comes with a disclaimer. As bizarre as the content sounds, it is not intended to be sarcastic. The topic. The Pig Bomb. A phrase coined by the Discovery Channel in a recent documentary focusing on the growing wild pig populations in our nation. Until I watched the documentary on Discovery Channel, I had no idea that we are facing an epidemic in our wild pig population. This epidemic in the number of of wild pigs populating our nation is being referred to as the Pig Bomb. In fact, some scientists are referring to this epidemic as the hidden terror in our nation due to the wild pigs' ability to destroy farmlands and injure everyone and everything that gets in their way. Because of the threat, wild pigs have been added to the list of invasive animals by the USDA.

I know this sounds ridiculous and I have to admit that I was trying not to laugh as I was hearing about the wild pig population. How can you not chuckle at something called the Pig Bomb? Not to mention, it is hard to think about wild pigs as a source of growing terror in our nation. Yet, I was shocked to find that researchers and scientists are not taking the sudden growth of wild pigs lightly and are desperately looking for the answers to the recent Pig Bomb causing the unhealthy population of wild pigs in our nation.

It is important to remember that wild pigs are not domesticated farm pigs that we typically picture in our minds. Referred to also as razorbacks, wild boars, and feral pigs, they stand about 3 1/2 feet tall and weigh about 300 pounds. They have sharp tusks and a large skull that can be used for ramming objects. They are extremely strong and use their sharp tusks to defend and attack.

Before 1990, there were about 7000 wild pigs that lived primarily in the eastern and southern parts of the United States. But now, they have exploded in numbers and have spread into 40 states.

Wild pigs have been getting more and more news coverage due to the bizarre incidents which have been happening as these wild pigs encounter people. The wild pigs are extremely aggressive and have been known to break into homes and attack people. They have caused millions of dollars in damages to farms across the nation.

In many places, hunters and game wardens are going out nightly to hunt the wild pigs in a desperate attempt to lower the population of wild pigs. Unfortunately, it is a lost cause. The wild pigs are able to reproduce when they reach the age of 5 months and they usually have a litter of 5 to 10 piglets. Scientists claim that in order to control the population, 7 out of every 10 wild pigs will need to be eliminated. Unfortunately, they are reproducing faster than natural predators or hunters can keep up with.

What has caused the Pig Bomb? Why are there so many wild pigs taking over our ecosystems? Scientists are beginning to speculate that American wild pigs have been breed with Eurasian wild boars causing a larger aggressive animal that runs faster, fights stronger, and is harder to keep under control. It is still too early to know what has caused the Pig Bomb to go off, but scientists are convinced it is a threat that cannot be ignored.

Sources:

http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/animals/wildboar.shtml

http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/pig-bomb-hog-hunting.html