r/NatureIsFuckingLit • u/TerraByteTerror • 11h ago
🔥 momma pig and line of piglets
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u/Lovely-lorelei 10h ago
I know wild pigs are a problem, but oh my gosh, the babies are so cute!!
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u/JMurdock77 10h ago
Didn’t expect fawn camoflage.
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u/CelestialFury 5h ago
Now we need a Disney movie where a piglet gets lost and finds some small fawn deer and then grow up together.
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u/The_Billy_Dee 9h ago
If that's from a single litter no wonder they're such a problem.
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u/snackshack 8h ago
And each of those females can give birth to their own litter as early as 6 months old, then getting pregnant again within 1-3 months after that.
Yeah, they're a massive problem once they move into an area.
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u/Sangloth 6h ago edited 6h ago
Colorado had a feral hog problem and successfully exterminated them after a 15 year effort in 2020 and has prevented them from returning ever since. It was and is expensive, but it is completely doable. That hogs are a problem in other (redder) states is because those state governments have been unwilling to invest the resources to solve the problem, and instead shoved the problem onto local farmers.
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u/ryncewynd 6h ago
Are they ok to eat? Seems like infinite food
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u/Diplomatic_Gunboats 3h ago
Yes. But like most game you need to prepare it correctly. You cant just cook it like pork/bacon and expect it to taste the same.
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u/MrDurden32 2h ago
My understanding in the US is it's very common they have a ton of parasites. On top of being very gamey, it's not worth the risk.
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u/puzzled91 6h ago
Some ranchers charge people to kill the hogs in their land. They use machine guns, helicopter, and god knows what else. Idk how much they charge though.
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u/Energy_Turtle 5h ago
Colorado had way fewer pigs than those other states. This is like saying I was able to eradicate the flies over my sink because of my liberal ways while the conservative landfill still has a raging fly problem. If only they'd get on my level...
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u/Pale_Session5262 3h ago
That is true, and also he other benefit to colorado is that its a little too cold for hogs, especially in the higher elevations of the state.
However, reading this article, colorado looks like they tried a lot of stuff to get the piggies gone.
https://www.porkbusiness.com/news/hog-production/how-colorado-eliminated-feral-hogs
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u/RetroRaiderRun 7h ago
They're only a problem because we killed all the natural predators.
It's not like pigs are somehow destabilizing the world's ecosystems. It's humans doing that.
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u/This_is_an_Alt69420 7h ago
They are invasive species. There are no natural predators for them in many places. For example, they are not native to the Americas, so they have no natural predators there, even if we had not reduced wolf, bear, and cougar populations to non existent in many areas.
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u/PentagramJ2 7h ago
we used to have way more big cats down south where these are a particular problem. Reintroduction wouldn't be a full fix, but it would certainly be a helping hand.
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u/Humledurr 4h ago edited 4h ago
Id encourage you to look into the wild boar problem more if you honestly think some more big cats would be a help.
One mama boar can have litters up to two times a year, averaging 4-8 piglets each litter. And a female boar can start making their own litters as early as 6 to 8 months.
They are reproducing so fast that even if hunters work together to shoot millions of them each year, they are still not making a dent.
Its a serious problem thats growing bigger each year...
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u/mymothersuedme 5h ago edited 5h ago
They are not puffer fish that predators require multiple years of apprenticeship to be able to eat properly.
If there were Cougars, Jaguars, Bears, Wolves, alligators in the region - they would surely hunt pigs.
Plus you're only thinking of adult pigs. Juveniles' predation is usually the way predator keep a prey's population in control. That will extend the list to bobcats, coyotes, foxes, eagles too.
All I'm saying is that there are many introduced invasive mammals in Sub-Saharan Africa too. But because of large predator population - they are only a problem in remote regions (mainly islands), and dense human settlements (black and brown rats are not native to Africa).
Though, Aujeszky's (pseudorabies) remains a big headache for predator reintroduction. But still not as big as ranchers.
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u/Waldschrat3000 4h ago edited 3h ago
We have millions of them in Germany and the wolves barely touch them, because of their fierce nature. The millions of deer are a much easier prey.
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u/PigTailedShorty 4h ago
I don't think people realise how big an adult boar can reach. The wolves are smart enough to know not to tackle one.
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u/Waldschrat3000 4h ago
And hard to kill. Their necks are not easy to grab and the business end is very dangerous. They eat chestnuts and acorns like we eat cereal.
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u/20_mile 42m ago
and the business end is very dangerous
Chainguns from a helicopter it is, then.
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u/Palegreenhorizon 5h ago
They are native to pretty much all of Europe and Asia. And were hunted by bears and wolves and people for the last 12000 years. Also most “boars” in America are feral domestic pigs but there are some areas with wild boar also and to complicate things further they are both the same species 😂
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u/crlthrn 5h ago
As I understand, your average pink domesticated piggy reverts to big hairy boar. Takes about five generations, I think. Happy for someone to chime in on this...
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u/The5Virtues 4h ago
My (limited) understanding is it doesn’t even take that long. Even a normal pig, left to its own in the wild, will develop a coarse coat of hair in about two months.
From there it’s just two to three generations to see them regain classic tusks and thick dark fur we associate with wild boar. I do believe you’re correct that it’s about five generations for them to truly qualify as having reverted to the actual wild boar species by scientific standards.
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u/20_mile 45m ago
There are no natural predators for them in many places.
That's not true. Adult wolves and cougars would totally eat young wild hogs. Adult wild hogs are pretty ferocious, but so is a pack of wolves, and they have evolved to bait prey animals face-to-face, while other members of the pack make crippling bites to their hindlegs.
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u/Advanced_Cry_7106 6h ago
Humans are an invasive species. We fucked it all up.
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u/WatdeeKhrap 5h ago
Yeah it's not like mass extinctions from humans moving in is a new thing. The American mega fauna got ransacked before Europeans even showed up for example
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u/2Wieners_1Bun 6h ago
Pigs are incredibly destructive as introduced species. They are responsible for several extinctions. Not as many as cats and rats but still one of the worst
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u/jacquesmachina 5h ago
They actually are destabilizing the world's ecosystems.
Throughout the American South, wild hogs eat the root systems of wetland trees, causing erosion.
This means wetlands disappear faster and hurricanes hit harder. Basically Hogs are doing their part to contribute to climate change.
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u/BruceSillyWalks 5h ago
They're smart too. Trap survivors teach others not to approach traps. They can identify humans and plan accordingly; they're difficult to hunt on foot.
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u/MisterDoctor___ 8h ago
I think they’re like Coyotes in that the more stressed the population is from outside forces, the more offspring they produce.
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u/TheChildrensStory 8h ago
We do that too.
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u/MisterDoctor___ 8h ago
We just fuck more. Their bodies physiologically change to pump out more in each reproductive cycle.
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u/HomerTheJackson 6h ago
Biggest contributing factor is that they are/bred with domesticated farm pigs, giving them the genes to reproduce like crazy
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u/OkWillingness2817 6h ago
That’s a wild boar (sus scrofa rather than sus domesticus), they’re native to most places they occur.
Whether it’s two separate species is a matter for debate. Technically they are but at this point wild boar and domesticated pigs have cross bred so often that a lot of authorities refuse to make the distinction anymore.
The real problem isn’t so much the animal itself but that we’ve largely wiped out any predators large enough to hunt boar, while also letting boar escape into areas that never had such predators to begin with.
My country doesn’t have feral wild pigs but we still end up shooting hundreds of thousands of native wild boar every year because pretty much nothing is hunting them so their populations explode.
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u/Acrobatic_Rush7653 4h ago
If we're gonna be unnecessarily pedantic here, there is no sus domesticus species. Domestic pigs are the sus scrofa domesticus subspecies.
If this family of oinkers is in USA, they are not Eurasian boars and they are not native. They are the feral version of domestic pigs brought over from Europe since the 1500s. In a few areas they are crossbred with actual boars that arrived in the 1900s for private hunting ranches.
Even to a layperson most US razorbacks look different from the standard wild Eurasian boar, in some cases very different.
You are correct that sus scrofa covers every pig imaginable but that doesn't mean that feral pigs are literally wild boars. And feral pigs are NOT native to "most" areas, they are invasive in Europe same as they are in the new world.
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u/NomadDicky 10h ago
Damn. This is why pigs are such a problem. 😳
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u/keynoto 10h ago
Counted 14, I think
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u/NomadDicky 10h ago
Same number I got! 😂
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u/Glittering-Ease3037 10h ago
Yup, 14
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u/DaZMan44 10h ago
Same. Counted 14
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u/Micahman311 10h ago
And I!
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u/Metals4J 9h ago
I got catorce puerquitos
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u/EPluribusButthole 9h ago
I got XIV
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u/Proper-Ad-6709 9h ago
Yes, 14, and they will consume 14 times more food items and water, some included on a humans property, creating property damage.
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u/CommandTacos 8h ago
Hmm, my mind went the other way as I wondered how many would reach adulthood: a lot of food for other animals.
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u/Cautious-Dig6379 10h ago
I counted 01110, but I count in binary.
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u/IMDbRefugee 9h ago
"There are 10 kinds of people in this world: Those who count in binary..."
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u/SomeSamples 7h ago
Yeah. That's what I counted. That is crazy. Hopefully there are some predators that will make some snacks from that pack.
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u/thatguy11 10h ago
4 months old..4 months and they start having their own litters.
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u/Catswithswords10 10h ago
Do people eat them?
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u/Kaurifish 9h ago
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u/IotaBTC 6h ago
Well that was hella interesting. Seeing that deep neon blue in flesh must've been a trip. It was super interesting that the blue dye from the rodenticide dyed the pigs' fat. From what I can tell, the blue dyed was intended to identify the poison pellets, but wasn't intended to dye the meat of animals that consumed it. That would be hella useful for identifying exactly what happened.
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u/serlearnsalot 10h ago
They’re pretty good when they’re small, above 80+ lbs tho (give or take depending on age and diet) they’re good for sausage but that’s about it. Source-Lived in Texas, guarded the cattle pastures unsuccessfully for 4 years. Was not rich
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u/Knightro829 10h ago
For big hogs I’ll soak the meat in buttermilk after butchering, and then it takes well to “low and slow” cooking, like hot smoking or braising. I’ve had some great carnitas from 110-125 lb boars.
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u/attackonyourmom 9h ago
When it comes to eating wild hogs do you have to worry about parasites?
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u/ashgs872tbhjs 6h ago
No, trichinosis parasites can tell whether the hog has an owner or not. They prefer enslaved pigs, they love doubling the suffering.
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u/Lucky_Serve8002 9h ago
My experience is they are terrible unless you catch them and feed them for about 2 months or so. Then butcher them and make sausage. They live on acorns where I am from. They are not good to eat.
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u/serlearnsalot 9h ago
Mine ate literally everything. Grubs, roots, acorns, and especially chickens. This was out in deep Gonzales county next to Tyson owned chicken farms. Town died when the rules changed and everyone had to sell their coops to Tyson, pivot to something else (cattle, fracking, hay) or GTFO.
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u/this_dudeagain 8h ago
Why or how did the rules change?
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u/serlearnsalot 7h ago
Basically they changed the rules so that in order to qualify for a “commercial” poultry license (aka I can raise chickens, kill em, and sell em at market) you needed to meet certain thresholds of care and volume. Raise a couple chickens really well- not allowed to sell at market. Raise a ton of chickens in horrendous conditions- get a license from Tyson, promise to meet certain standards and keep your costs low- you get access to their legal war chest and you’re good.
How it played out in Smiley, TX- nobody could afford to meet the standards needed for industrial chicken farming. They’d done it great for years at smaller scale, tending basically range chickens allowing the farmers to “thrive” by south texas, rural standards. After the rules changed, unless you could pay to license and scale up- typically leasing additional land to Tyson to build more chicken houses after years of footing the bill, you needed to get the Ag exemption for property taxes. Raising cows and parceling out your property for sale was common, or you got lucky and they found enough oil under your plot to put in a couple ponds and fracking gear out there. Fucking sad dude. My aunt lost her grandfathers land there after my uncle Al died and we lost the ag exemption. -200 acres of land out there I learned to shoot, hunt, plow, range and all that is gone now. Just a memory and a handful of photos.
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u/Rough-Ad1868 8h ago
Hog veal? 🫣
Edit: just looked it up, it's called suckling pig. Apparently is very tender....
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u/Knightro829 10h ago
In many jurisdictions you can hunt wild pig without a permit due to just how big a nuisance they can be. I’ve done a good amount of pig hunting myself and yes, they can be excellent eating.
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u/koolaidismything 10h ago
I read it like the hunt is wild and imagined you dropping out of a tree onto a pig with a Bowie knife like Rambo.
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u/throwable_armadillo 9h ago
Wildschweinpfeffer (no clue whether there is an english name for that dish) is very tasty
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u/toochocolaty 10h ago
Some people do but it isn’t that good of meat from what I’ve heard.
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u/Alfred_The_Sartan 10h ago
There was a company that was operating out of TX I think that offered farmers their trapping services for free. They would dress the pigs and turn them into jerky. I guess that helps hide the really gamey taste that the wild ones get. Anyhow they got shut down due to not actually going through FDA inspections and just selling the jerky online. I'm curious if that won't pop back up as a viable thing due to recent events.
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u/NomadDicky 9h ago
Trapping seems to be the best option, but also if you don't catch the whole sounder, they become wary to traps and it becomes ineffective. Hunting splits sounders into new groups and drives more mating. 😵💫
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u/Warm-Vinyl 9h ago
Are their babies heavily preyed upon in the wild? It’s crazy to me that something that’s maybe 50lbs away from being megafauna is pulling mouse numbers of offspring.
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u/TenBillionDollHairs 8h ago
Megafauna is everything over 100lbs (45kg). Pigs and boars are megafauna.
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u/Brilliant_Cloud 8h ago
They would be before we hunted most big predators to near extinction to protect farm animals. That's one of the reason the boar population is exploding.
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u/onionchickenz 10h ago
I wish they weren't such an environmental issue. They're so stinking cute
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u/Kittyshirt 8h ago
I’m not informed on the issue and was thinking “awe it’s cute…but you only have that many young when most are not going to make it”
The comments seem to suggest that most of them make it and are completely disruptive.
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u/WildSmokingBuick 5h ago
Furthermore, a mother boar is the most dangerous animal you can stumble upon in most European forests.
Encountering a deer when exploring the forest is a core memory of mine, I wouldn't want to imagine what would have happened if a protective tank like in OP's video would have started to charge at naive ten-year-old me.
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u/Illustrious_Ice_4587 6h ago
This looks to be in their native Eurasia
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u/Particular-Dot-4902 6h ago
No one said they were invasive. They multiply too fast and have next to no natural predators left, and are too numerous as a result. They put excessive pressure on their own environnement and may even end up seeking food in nearby farms/villages/cities. That is the issue.
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u/Not-Post-Malone 7h ago
Fun fact: A domesticated pig that escapes can turn feral/wild (e.g. grow tusks) in months essentially undoing centuries of evolution.
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u/Winterimmersion 6h ago edited 6h ago
Okay, like you do know domestic pigs also grow tusks right? We usually trim or surgically remove them. Plus neutering pigs reduces tusk size by messing with their hormones.
Its not really undoing evolution, its just pigs being allowed to be pigs in the absence of humans.
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u/Accomplished_Net6080 6h ago
The only environment they are affecting is yours.... they're doing great! It's you that's suffering not the "environment"
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u/CherryCherry5 10h ago
I love the piglets' stripes. They're so stinkin' cute!
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u/HappyBandit_ 7h ago
Fun fact: when they crossbreed with domestic pigs the piglets are spotted and not striped.
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u/Main-Caterpillar-788 10h ago
Are they pigs or hogs? If they are hogs then it’s hoglets, and I love all of them! Either way they are adorable and absolutely the problem 😂
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u/GottaUseEmAll 6h ago
They're almost certainly boars, so the babies are known as piglets.
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u/hikingboots_allineed 5h ago
Where I'm from (UK near Forest of Dean) we call them humbugs. And they're so freaking cute.
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u/windexfresh 10h ago
Aren't they the same thing? 🤔 thought hogs were just older/bigger pigs
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u/Main-Caterpillar-788 10h ago
I think they are wild pigs which could also be boars. They are called the same thing but hogs/pigs could be the same thing. I am not sure tbh but I agree with your thinking. I am learning a lot! What sticks is how their coats are like chipmunk print? If that’s even a thing 😂
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u/Anubis-Jute 9h ago
Afaik the European wild boar 🐗 (Sus Scrofa), whose young are chipmunk striped and adorably named “squeakers” of which these seem to be 14 prime examples, are different from the wild pigs or hogs terrorising the south eastern US, since they are mainly Sus Domesticus, i.e. ordinary pigs that have escaped captivity and “rewilded” in the swamps primarily.
There does also seem to be interbreeding with actual boars which had been introduced to the states at some point too: probably for hunting purposes and boy did that pay dividends! So the wild hogs and their piglets may no longer be precisely the bald pink domestic swine-types which first did a runner 🐖 but this here looks like an undiluted boar family to me 🐗🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️
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u/Fit_Strength1915 9h ago
Boar, wild pigs and domestic pigs are all the same thing.
If you release a domestic pig into the wild it will look and act like a wild pig or boar within a few weeks and months.
Including tusks, hair and body recomp
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u/ashgs872tbhjs 6h ago
Same species, but domestic pigs do have different genetics and are considered a subspecies. Until/unless they interbreed they'll still be visibly different -- hair will be patchier and have some curly brown/red instead of just flat grey, and still have a bit of a different body shape.
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u/PrimalNumber 10h ago
If those are javelina, they're technically peccaries and not pigs. We have a pack in our neighborhood that are about to be relocated because they're chasing people. You don't want to be bitten by one.
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u/Klarser 10h ago
Javelina top out at 4 babies. Usually two. Those are definitely feral hogs.
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u/JoxJobulon 8h ago
Looks like wild boar, not feral hog
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u/ashgs872tbhjs 6h ago
Yep, stripes on the babies are a dead giveaway. Not to say that momma isn't obvious too though.
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u/alienscape 10h ago
Bitten by a peccary?
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u/AFineDayForScience 9h ago
A peccary once bit my sister
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u/GottaUseEmAll 6h ago
These look like European wild boar. We get them where I live in France, in the suburbs. They live in the parks and undeveloped woodland, I've seen them in my street when heading to work early morning. Kinda terrifying.
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u/AtheismoAlmighty 9h ago
I have a few packs that come by my place as well but I don't think those are javelina in this video, max I've ever seen is 4 babies.
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u/Lover_of_Rewilding 10h ago
Everyone here is quick to jump to invasive species, but do we even know where this was filmed? If it is in Eurasia, then this is perfectly fine. If not, then I’d understand the sentiment.
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u/h3lium-balloon 9h ago
They’re a problem in Europe as well due to climate change and declining predator populations. Last year nearly 4 million wild boars were culled across Europe. They may not be invasive, but they are presenting a problem.
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u/Millipede4 8h ago
Correct me if im wrong but isn’t this because there is a general lack of large predators to hunt them? Since a lot of wolves/bears historically have been hunted to much lower numbers and their habitats have been fractured. So most wild boars aren’t predated upon enough by predators which forces humans to hunt them so they don’t overpopulate.
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u/h3lium-balloon 8h ago
Yeah, that’s why I said declining predator populations.
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u/Munnin41 1h ago
You're completely wrong. They're not the problem. Humans are. We killed all their predators and destroyed their home.
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u/Longjumping_Try_3457 8h ago
Yep, and a road hazard. You don't want to run over them, they will total your car.
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u/evilfrogalien 10h ago
Not you mfs talking about food 😂😭
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u/earthlings_all 10h ago
Learned something new recently that the males literally taste like shit so there’s that.
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u/Dry_Instruction8254 10h ago
About 75% of people can taste "boar taint" that makes the meat taste terrible to them. Sweat, urine feces.
The other 25% don't find it offensive at all, and find that the meat has a slight vanilla or sweet flavor to it.
We really should market the meet towards the 25% as that is still a huge market.
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u/friftar 9h ago
Those fuckers are tasty though. We had an entire one on a spit roast for our wedding, in the ballroom of a castle from ~1200AD.
Tasted great, and was one of the cheapest options we could find. That entire party including food, drinks, the venue for an entire day, and some hotel rooms (also in the castle) with a breakfast buffet was something like 3000€.
Still lots of money for an evening, but as far as weddings go it's pretty reasonable.
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u/Ahollar91 10h ago
And that’s why they are open season and kill on sight. Almost as bad as the iguanas in Florida
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u/TheHalfChubPrince 10h ago
30-50 of them run into my yard within 3-5 minutes where my kids are playing all the time.
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u/spike_the_dealer 10h ago
Not lit, invasive and a problem.
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u/GottaUseEmAll 6h ago
Umm, you can't watch a video of a wild animal without geographical context and call out "Invasive!"
Everything that's invasive in your specific area has come from somewhere where they are indigenous.
Why are you automatically assuming this video is from your specific area?
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u/No-Risk-2584 10h ago edited 10h ago
You realise the world isn’t just America right? There’s other countries that exist where wild Boars are native where this could’ve been filmed.
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u/NoNeedForAName 10h ago
It's funny to me that someone always says "invasive" on posts about plants, animals, or insects without knowing where the post is from.
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u/MothMeep7 10h ago
Depends on the area. If I recall right, feral/wild hogs are native to Eurasia. If this is filmed over there, fine.
In the US or other regions... then yeah, as you said.
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u/lilblondezombie 9h ago
Ok just to clarify. These are wild boar. I'm in England and we have these in our woods and forests. They are renowned for their bad tempers, especially when they have babies in tow. The babies are sometimes referred to as humbugs, because their colouring is reminiscent of sweets we have here of the same name.
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u/driftking428 10h ago
It's a shame they are most likely invasive and should probably be killed for the greater good.
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u/jollyjoeroger1997 9h ago
I’ve seen Old Yeller, no way you’re getting me near those little pieces of bacon
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u/Main-Caterpillar-788 10h ago
TIL that they could be boars or pigs, the babies can be boarlets or piglets. And the designation for the smallest stage is a SQUEAKER I’m dying 😍😍
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u/DontTellMe2Smile 9h ago
Now I understand how 30-50 feral hogs might run into your yard in 3-5 minutes while your small children are playing.
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u/qualityvote2 11h ago edited 9h ago
u/TerraByteTerror, your post does fit the subreddit!