WVU Update
Published as a Special Insert for Farm Bureau News
Winter 2015
Feral swine in West Virginia
O
ver the past 25 years, the feral swine population in the
United States has increased, and their geographic range
is expanding at unnatural rates.
Until recently, wild boars were big
game and restricted to the southern
West Virginia coalfields. Over time,
small feral swine populations have
begun to pop up outside of those
coalfields. Swine are not native to
West Virginia (or even North America),
and are wreaking havoc on our native
wildlife, plants, and habitats.
Besides man, feral pigs are considered
the greatest vertebrate modifier of
natural communities. Although
not presently recognized as highly
damaging in West Virginia, estimates
suggest that feral pigs in the United
States cause more than $1 billion in
damages each year. The damage to
agricultural and natural resources
is a result of wallowing, aggressive
rooting, and feeding behaviors.
About feral swine
Feral swine (free roaming pigs
commonly known as feral hogs or feral
pigs) are found in 20 counties. Many
of these pigs are the wild descendants
of domestic pigs introduced into the
coastal areas of the southeastern
Feral swine
populations
by county
Hancock
About wild boars
In West Virginia, feral swine have
different origins. Wild boars form
a geographically concentrated
population in the four-county
area of Boone, Raleigh, Logan, and
Wyoming counties. This population
was originally introduced in 1971,
when 30 wild boars were released in
southern West Virginia with the intent
to supplement big game hunting
opportunities. This four-county area
remains the only portion of the state
with a boar hunting season. While
these wild boars are the same species
as feral swine and as domesticated pigs
(Sus scrofa), differences exist in their
appearance and natural history.
Feral swine impact
Brooke
Ohio
Marshall
Monongalia
Wetzel
Doddridge
Harrison
Ritchie
Barbour
Calhoun
Gilmer
Tucker
Hampshire
Grant
Hardy
Upshur
Jackson
Randolph
Roane
Putnam
Pendleton
Braxton
Webster
Clay
Cabell
Kanawha
Wayne
Mineral
Taylor
Lewis
Wirt
Mason
Berkeley
Preston
Pleasants
Wood
Morgan
Marion
Tyler
Nicholas
Pocahontas
Jefferson
Feral swine compete with native
wildlife species for food resources –
especially acorns, beech nuts, and other
seeds important to wildlife and forest
renewal. As oppurtunistic omnivores,
feral pigs can also be predators of frogs,
salamanders, snakes, turtles, small
mammals, ground nesting birds, and
white-tailed deer fawns.
Lincoln
Boone
Fayette
Greenbrier
Mingo
Logan
Feral Swine Report
Raleigh
Wyoming
McDowell
Summers
Mercer
Monroe
Wild Boar Area
Both
United States by European explorers
in the 16th century. These animals
have been introduced into the wilds
of West Virginia, either accidentally
or intentionally.
Feral pigs are highly mobile and
carry many diseases and parasites
that infect other wildlife, livestock,
and humans. While vaccinations
and careful animal husbandry have
nearly eliminated many diseases
from domestic livestock, feral swine
still harbor these diseases and can
continue to infect the domestic
– continued on page iii –
Insert Provided by WVU Extension Service and Davis College of Ag., Natural Resources, and Design
Winter 2015
West Virginia Farm Bureau News 15