An estimated 6 million wild pigs live across 35 U. S. states. Feral pigs live in 56 of the 58 California counties, and many of them are right here in Mendocino County. In the 2023-24 state of California Fish Wildlife Wild Pig Take Report, 162 wild pigs were reported killed in Mendocino County. We were in fifth place behind Monterey with 854. San Luis Obispo with 505, Kern with 275 and Tehama with 233. Again, those are the kills reported to fish and game.
These opportunistic and destructive pests are well-suited to our county, which provides abundant acorns, bulbs, grasses, roots, tubers, and even invertebrates, for these very non-picky eaters. Hardy animals, who proved resilient in the holds of ships during long sea voyages, SUS scrofa, as the scientists call them, were first introduced to the Americas in the Caribbean by the Columbus Expedition in 1493. They were brought to California in the 1700s by Spanish settlers. A bit later, Russian settlers introduced some of their own pigs. Trading vessels in the 1800s, plying our waters, also added to the population along the coast. Soon the swine escaped or were allowed to wander off on their own recognizance.
When food is plentiful and predators low, feral pigs can start breeding at six months or younger. Normally, though, they start breeding at a year to 18 months. Litters are typically 5-6 piglets, but can be as many as 15, and can occur twice at any time of the year. Piglets are independent from mama after a few months. A 2015 study by California fishing game entitled
"Mitochondrial DNA Perspectives on the Introduction and Spread of Wild Pigs in California" found that our SUS scrofa may have originated in Spain and Russia, but are now all American. By looking at haplotypes or groups of genes from a single parent, it was determined that California pigs generally originated in Eastern Eurasia, Western Eurasia, and the islands of Southeast Asia.
Through the miracle of such DNA science, we now know a bit more specifically that they hail from Hawaii, the South Pacific Islands, Kentucky, and Hooper-Bald North Carolina. In the 1900s, hunters did a bit of citizen geoengineering and brought pigs to California to improve sport hunting. The history of pigs in California is long and interesting, which is, of course, no comfort to those who have to deal with the damage they do. For the KZYX and Z, Mendocino County Public Broadcasting News, this is W.Dan.