Fetal & Feral Pigs

With being in Bio 153, there are many topics that come up in our discussion that correspond with television shows. Today and for the past couple of days, we have been observing fetal pigs. We have been learning about the functions of their organs, their main vessels, and their body structure. With learning about fetal pigs, the TV show Hogs Gone Wild on the Discovery Channel was brought into discussion.

Hogs Gone Wild is a Texas Non-Profit Organization that was formed after the observation of the increasing number of free-roaming, wild hogs that have become a national problem. We learned in class that because of the high reproductive rate of pigs, if a domesticated pig was to escape, in two generations, the pig would adapt and become a wild, fierce hog. These wild hogs destroy private property and wildlife habitat as well as the physical danger to animals and humans. There are six million wild hogs today, which with their large size also cause a large amount of damage, causing 1 million dollars worth throughout the US. Feral, or wild, and domestic hogs resemble each other, although the wild pigs are adapted to living in the wild and accustomed to hunting for their food. They have a keen sense of smell are very agile on their hooves.

The show, Hogs Gone Wild, brings you along on their "hunts" to catch these wild pigs from causing havoc. This clip from the show shows a 180 lb feral sow that has been running loose through downtown Tampa, FL. This next clip from the Discovery Channel website is about a hog that has created a wallow under the house and is ruining the foundation. "Most wild boars have two 3 inch teeth on them, very, very sharp, and they know how to use them. They're like bulldozers with teeth on them," a Hogs Gone Wild employee said.

The Hogs Gone Wild team use dogs to find and hunt down the hogs. They pin the hogs so that the removal team can secure the pig and remove it from the premise. The dogs are a big help tracking down and removing the hogs all together.