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Post by greyhair on Mar 23, 2006 6:38:36 GMT -5
I read some of the posts about feral hogs in Indiana. I have been doing a little digging into this lately, (cabin fever, nothing else to do) and I believe that there certainly are wild hogs in Indiana, and they are spreading. A DNR guy named Steve Backs is tracking the info.
The question is whether they are russian boars or your basic 4-H pigs that got loose or what. It seems like the truth is mixed. Farm hogs will easily adapt to living in the wild if necessary. Pigs are extremely smart and tough as we all know. They also multiply like rabbits. I think that wild and domestic animals also interbreed, so what you run into out there may be a Heinz 57. Feral hogs are one of the fastest growing pest problems in the country. They do a tremendous amount of damage to the woodlands, and are hard to eradicate.
The DNR is worried about the problem and rightly so. A guy I work with is in a runner's club. There is a trail they run through the river bottoms on the north end of Terre Haute. There is a big wetland area there that was built as part of the mitigation for the new 641 bypass. Recently, they jumped one while going through there. There are no hog operations anwhere near there, it was clearly a domestic pig gone wild. Hope it doesn't have a mate! I did report this to the DNR and they were very interested. It seems like that reports have been popping up all over in the past 2 or 3 years. I don't think we have a Russian boar problem, but the domestic pigs gone wild can be nasty.
They like to stick to the soggy bottom areas where they may go unnoticed for a while. I also read that one of the scenarios that is helping them spread is this - rural areas are built up with subdivisions and residential areas - all of it except the bottomland where you can't build - then with all the homes, guess what - shooting is restricted.
i also read that thye have no eye-pigment so it is difficult to spotlight them? Anybody know if that is true?
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Post by DEERTRACKS on Mar 23, 2006 7:39:23 GMT -5
Good post.
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Post by DDragon47 on Mar 23, 2006 8:31:33 GMT -5
They must be in the south i take it.
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Post by drs on Mar 23, 2006 14:55:17 GMT -5
They must be in the south i take it. In Warrick County, there was a large Wild Hog taken there during Deer Season back in the 1990's.
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Post by greyhair on Mar 23, 2006 16:45:31 GMT -5
I have heard they are down there. When I get a chance, I am going to scout that area near Terre Haute in the bottoms and see if there is any sign. It is an area where not many people go. Not a very convenient place to get to, unless you are one of those cross-country runners. Other than rooted up areas, what other sign would there be? I own a few acres in Parke county that is really pristine, I would be really upset if they rooted up all my ferns, ginseng, bloodroot and wildflowers. Oh, and I do hang a stand in there every year
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Post by Woody Williams on Mar 23, 2006 16:49:24 GMT -5
I have heard they are down there. When I get a chance, I am going to scout that area near Terre Haute in the bottoms and see if there is any sign. It is an area where not many people go. Not a very convenient place to get to, unless you are one of those cross-country runners. Other than rooted up areas, what other sign would there be? I own a few acres in Parke county that is really pristine, I would be really upset if they rooted up all my ferns, ginseng, bloodroot and wildflowers. Oh, and I do hang a stand in there every year You'll be able to spot the"rooted up areas" rather easily. They can do a lot of damage rather quickly. Mud wallers is another sign to look for.
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Post by smokepole72 on Mar 23, 2006 17:12:12 GMT -5
i had started a post similar to this on hunting.net and had so many responses mostly negative saying there are no hog's in southern indiana or indiana period but i also had some people say yes there are hog's but no one gave much info....i was directed here from someone on hunting.net and if you read any of my posts my first ones were on hog's ....i did get some info that i had promised i would not reveal about where hog's are in the southern indiana area....i have not checked that area for lack of time recently. but i would be willing to join any members of this site who would be willing to do some scouting of this area or others i have heard of or that you may no of.....This whole pig thing is really driving me nut's i hadn't heard anything of it until about 3 months ago and since i have gotten a boat load of info good and bad....i say lets find out if the rumors are true or false. If they are true we will kill some pigs...if there false we will kill some time
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Post by kbiddle on Apr 6, 2006 12:51:34 GMT -5
I can confirm from several folks that have basically said the same thing there are in fact wild hogs in southern Indiana... I was having a discussion last week with the areas biologist in my area on a quail plan etc.. and the subject came up and I he indicated that they had been here for some time a few years or so and that the population was growing. From what I understand though is that the local folks show up like crazy when news of a hog sighting occurs... being new to the area I have not personally seen any evidence in my area of them but will sure be on the look out...
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Post by kbiddle on Apr 7, 2006 7:24:22 GMT -5
I can confirm from several folks that have basically said the same thing there are in fact wild hogs in southern Indiana... I was having a discussion last week with the areas biologist in my area on a quail plan etc.. and the subject came up, he indicated that they had been here for some time atleast a few years or so. The population was growing. From what I understand though is that the local folks show up like crazy when news of a hog sighting occurs... being new to the area I have not personally seen any evidence in my area of them but will sure be on the look out...
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Post by hanmal on Apr 24, 2006 14:42:50 GMT -5
I confim there are wild hogs in southern Indiana to be more specific- Jackson County around the river beds and areas. I have had the privilege to taste the fine cooking of what the locals called to be a wild Russian Boar. I did not see the pictures as of yet. The meat was well prepared though for it was a tasty shoulder. I have helped load a 180 pound boar onto my atv to haul back to Medora from the River. This was a wild boar and not from some famer lost piglets. This one we waited for several hours for the group to come out to view from thick cover. We took down the big guy. This was on April 8th 2006.
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Post by cday on Apr 27, 2006 21:19:16 GMT -5
We are having the problem of people bringing in wild russian boars into our area of Arkansas. My son and myself got cornered up by a wild russian sow with piglets during the youth permit turkey hunt at our local WMA. The game warden and WMA manager came in with shotguns with slugs to take her out the piglets. We got to keep one piglet and the sow to make brats with. Later that day we went back out to see if we could tree a tom and 350 lb large russian boar charged us, but this time I was prepared I carry five rounds of deer slugs in my pocket. When the boar charged us my son handed me his shotgun and took off running. I quickly unloading the turkey loads while running and loaded up the slugs. I shot the boar at less than 8 eight steps away hitting him two times out of three. After I shot I called the WMA's manager and he came back in and meet me and finished off the boar with his .270. This episode really scared my son and now he has no desires to go back out there hunting. These were aparently brought in and released illegally and still is under investigation. The WMA manager used to be a biologist for a Texas ranch and stated that was one of the largest russian boars he has ever since. A boar that size would easily bring 15,000 to 20,000 dollars just for a opportunity to shoot one this size.
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Post by huxbux on Apr 29, 2006 15:42:10 GMT -5
Heard it from a local who stopped by our turkey camp that he knew of feral hogs around Leesville...... just a rumor, but worth repeating on this thread
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Post by Decatur on May 1, 2006 10:32:34 GMT -5
Interesting topic. My uncle, back in the late 80's, early nineties, saw a pack of feral hogs on the Huntington Resevoir Property. In fact, once they hung around his brothers treestand until way after dark, and he couldn't/wouldn't get down until they left. They judged the biggest one to go 400#+. They saw these hogs multiple times. They said there were 8 of them, all adults.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2006 21:05:25 GMT -5
this is no rumor because i personly shot 5 already in warrick co. and heard of some guys with dogs taking alot more. we usualy wait till winter with a fresh snow . a blind man can track a sow with little ones with her. usualy go with 2 or3 guys. alot of times you gan get in front ofthem if you know the area 2 guys will block and the other will stay on the tracks.2 way radios are amust to stay in touch to let the blockers know if they need to move. beleive me you can tell if there is hogs around they are usually in cattail swamps or spoil banks they will have the ground all rooted up and they love to rub on trees there will be mud smeared allover the tree. all the hogs we killed were pure black the piglets are a dark brown. don,t know if they are russion are not not a biologest .as far as having any chase any of us that has never happened.could,ent be that lucky.have been cralling through c attails and jumped them a few feet infront of me .and never even see them. that really burns me . got in the middle of a sow and piglets one time there was acouple 150 pounders with them shot one of them then was going to shoot the sow next but man did she haul ass. she could care less about them little ones, there were pigs running every where never could hit one of them little sukkers boy can they move did,t mean to ramble but it sure is a lot of fun. I would tell you axacly where but we are having too much fun have never seen anouther hunter in 5 yrs we been hunting them.
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Post by Decatur on Jun 19, 2006 7:28:12 GMT -5
Duck, I'm sure some people on here would gladly trade you a hunt for the opportunity to kill a hog. Do you eat the meat, I hope?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2006 21:05:46 GMT -5
decatur the meat is really pretty good. i,ll wait and see what is going to happen to the peabody ground where i hunt rumors are flying around that its all getting leased up by afew lucky rich people. hell i will send you a topo of the area if that happens.
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Post by Decatur on Jun 27, 2006 6:13:30 GMT -5
:-)
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Post by hoosierhunter06 on Jul 24, 2006 9:36:47 GMT -5
earlier this month i went out to see what my two beagles were barking at and i heard squealing in my woods and crashing sound with grunts and deer don't make those kind of sounds they were hogs i know that sound i raise them. And i beg to differ with a few of you it will take a domestic hog 2 days to look like a wild hog it will revert back that fast i know as i said i've raised them for years i maybe 23 but thats all my family has done we had a boar that would jump the electric fence he wasn't bad eating lol. but we had a field of them and they were looking like wild hogs after 2 days.
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Post by dec on Jul 25, 2006 4:40:32 GMT -5
I see that IDNR finally acknowleged that there are feral hogs in Indiana in the latest Regs book. I could be wrong, but I think it is the first time I've seen something in print from them on the subject.
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Post by Woody Williams on Jul 25, 2006 7:14:18 GMT -5
I see that IDNR finally acknowleged that there are feral hogs in Indiana in the latest Regs book. I could be wrong, but I think it is the first time I've seen something in print from them on the subject. I think that you are right on the "in print". I've never seen anything eitehr. We've had them down here in Warrick county for at least 10 years. Our COs have always said shoot them on sight any which way we wanted to. They are VERY prolific breeders and can destroy habitat as fast as a bulldozer. .
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