Page 95 - South Mississippi Living - March, 2024

Josh Forbes and Jordan Turner look over a hog wallow. Hogs leave abundant sign of their presence when they’ve been in an area. Hogs coat themselves in mud at wallows such as this to keep cool and keep bugs off themselves.
Feral hogs cause major damage to pastures and agricultural crops.
of domesticated pigs with him to feed his army as he wandered through what became the southeastern United States from 1539 to 1542.
Some of those pigs escaped into the wilds where they thrived and multiplied. A feral sow can begin breeding when she reaches six months old. She can give birth to two litters per year, each with four to 12 piglets. By the time she drops her second litter, her first daughters begin giving birth. Feral pigs now number in the millions across the country.
Tired of eating poor ship rations, sailors exploring the New World commonly released pigs on islands as fresh meat for passing ship crews. With no natural predators in those islands, pigs flourished. Ships of that era frequently sank or fell prey to pirates. Some castaways or marooned
pirates on those islands lived off wild hog meat. They prepared the meat by hanging salted strips on wooden racks called buccans and slowly drying them
over fires. These people became known as “buccaneers.” Meat prepared this way could last a long time without refrigeration in the tropical heat. The word “jerky” comes from the Spanish word charque, which means “to cut things into long strips.” When not drying meat, these people frequently raided passing ships, giving another meaning to the word “buccaneer.”
Feral hogs can live almost anywhere, but prefer bottomland forests, creek drainages, swamps and agricultural fields. Many populate the swamps along the Pascagoula and Pearl River basins. Feral pigs stay near food sources such as agricultural crops, nut or fruit trees.
Omnivorous, hogs eat almost anything. They particularly love acorns, berries, fruit, bulbs, mushrooms, insects, snails, grubs, earthworms and small animals, alive or dead. When looking for goodies, hogs habitually root up mud with their tusks, causing great damage. Some areas almost look like a roto-tiller plowed up the ground.
Since hogs cause major damage to crops, pastureland and wildlife habitat, many landowners welcome sportsmen to shoot all the hogs they can on their properties. Knocking on a few doors or making some phone calls might open access to many acres for hog hunting.
For information on Mississippi hog hunting laws, see www.mdwfp.com/wildlife-hunting/wild-hog- program/wild-hog-regulations-in-mississippi.
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