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Wild Boar

Scientific Name

Sus scrofa Linnaeus, 1758 (ITIS)

Common Name

Wild boar, wild hog, feral pig, feral hog, Old World swine, razorback, Eurasian wild boar, Russian wild boar

Native To
Date of U.S. Introduction
Means of Introduction

Imported as a food source and escaped from domestication or were intentionally released (Rouhe and Sytsma 2007)

Impact

Damages native plants and crops and competes with native species (Rouhe and Sytsma 2007)

Current U.S. Distribution

Feral swine have been reported in at least 35 states. Their population is estimated at over 6 million and is rapidly expanding. Range expansion over the last few decades is due to a variety of factors including their adaptability to a variety of climates and conditions, translocation by humans, and a lack of natural predators.

Wild boar - invasive.org

Wild Boar, Management

Credit

Billy Higginbotham Texas AgriLife Extension Service

Find more images

Spotlights

  • Even the Most Promising New Management Tools Struggle to Keep up with Invasive Wild Pigs

    • Feb 2, 2024
    • USDA. FS. Southern Research Station. CompassLive.

    • Whether called wild pigs, feral hogs, or wild boars, these opportunistic and invasive omnivores live in groups called sounders. Removing whole sounders is the most effective management method, but requires follow-up trapping and hunting due to their incredible reproductive potential.

  • Help USDA Estimate Feral Swine Damage to U.S. Agriculture

    • Jul 22, 2022
    • USDA. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

    • USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), in coordination with the National Feral Swine Damage Management Program, is conducting a Feral Swine Survey. NASS mailed questionnaires to more than 11,000 producers growing corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, peanuts, and sorghum in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas during the last week of June 2022. If you or someone you know received a survey, please be sure to send in your responses by August 12, 2022. Use the Respondent Portal to complete surveys, track upcoming surveys, view data visualizations and reports, and more.

  • History Highlight: APHIS Establishes National Program to Combat Destructive Feral Swine

    • Jun 22, 2022
    • USDA. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

    • Wild boar, razorback, feral hog, wild pig—those are just a few of the names for one of the most destructive, formidable invasive species in the United States. Estimates vary, but their population likely exceeds 6 million nationwide. They cause tremendous damage—up to $2.5 billion annually—to crops, forestry, livestock, and pastures.

      To combat these threats, APHIS established the National Feral Swine Damage Management Program in 2014. The program’s overarching goal is to protect agricultural and natural resources, property, animal health, and human health and safety by managing feral swine damage. APHIS collaborates with many stakeholders—including States, Tribes, other Federal agencies, universities, and the public—to accomplish this goal.

  • This Little Piggy: Wild Pigs Impact in Alabama

    • Jun 2022
    • Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

    • This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed home, this little piggy had roast beef and this little piggy…caused major damage to agricultural crops and the environment. Okay, so that is not exactly how the children’s nursery rhyme goes, but this is a true story for farmers and landowners. In fact, wild pigs cause millions of dollars’ worth of damage each year.

  • Feral Hog Invasions Leave Coastal Marshes More Susceptible to Climate Change

    • Nov 16, 2021
    • Duke University. Nicholas School of the Environment.

    • Coastal marshes that have been invaded by feral hogs recover from disturbances up to three times slower than non-invaded marshes and are far less resilient to sea-level rise, extreme drought and other impacts of climate change, a new study led by scientists at Duke University and the University of Massachusetts Boston (UMB) finds. "Under normal circumstances, marshes can handle and recover from drought or sea level rise, given time, but there is no safety net in place for hog invasions," said Brian Silliman, Rachel Carson Distinguished Professor of Marine Conservation Biology at Duke, who co-authored the study.

  • African Swine Fever - Report Feral Swine [PDF, 365 KB]

    • May 2020
    • USDA. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

    • Feral swine can carry foreign animal diseases like African Swine Fever. While ASF has never been found in domestic or feral swine in the United States, there is no treatment or vaccine for it. That’s why surveillance is very important. Help protect U.S. pigs by immediately reporting sick or dead feral swine.

      WHAT TO DO: If you find a sick or dead feral swine with no obvious injury or cause of death, report it right away. Call the USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services program in your State at 1-866-4-USDA-WS. Don’t wait! Quick detection is essential to preventing the spread of ASF.

  • Northwest Climate Hub - Feral Swine in the Northwest

    • United States Department of Agriculture. USDA Climate Hubs.

    • Feral swine have recently invaded parts of the Northwest. They have been invading southwestern and central Oregon since 2004 and were first detected in Washington in 2016. Idaho has not seen significant numbers of feral swine, however migrating pigs may pose a threat. The population growth potential of feral swine is closely associated with food availability, which is becoming more abundant year-round due to warmer winter conditions that are linked to climate change. Projected increases in extreme events and average summer temperatures in the region are not expected to negatively impact the success of feral pigs. In response, timely population control measures are necessary to avoid damage to crops, forests, and rangelands.

Distribution / Maps / Survey Status

Videos

Selected Resources

The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source.

Council or Task Force
Partnership
Federal Government
International Government
State and Local Government
Academic
Professional
Citations