A wild sus scrofa is no Disney 'Babe' A wild <em>sus scrofa</em> is no Disney 'Babe' (March 15, 2000)

Wild pigs have been roaming California's coastal hills ever since the Spanish missions let their domestic pigs run free as a readily available source of meat, says Jim Nee, biologist and pig-coordinator for the office of the Santa Cruz County Agricultural Commissioner.

It was about 1925 that a hunting preserve in the Carmel Valley imported European wild boar for sport hunting. When the wild boars got loose and interbred with the feral domestic pigs, they created a "hybrid that is pretty tough," says Mr. Nee.

These are the pigs -- sus scrofa -- that are now spreading into San Mateo County. They are smart, omnivorous, extremely prolific, and successful.

Mr. Nee wrote the 1992 booklet, "Wild pigs of the Central Coast," published by the Soil Conservation Service of the Department of Agriculture, which gives basic information on the biology, legal status and control of coastal pigs.

These pigs can live up to six years in the wild, and they can grow to about 250 pounds.

Under ideal conditions, the sows start to breed at six or seven months, and can produce up to two litters a year with up to 10 piglets each. However, on the Central Coast, sows tend to produce a single litter of four-to-six piglets each year, Mr. Nee says.

In droughts and other times of stress, the wild sows can shut down their reproductive cycle, Mr. Nee says. But "in good times they can crank up their reproductive rate."

Pigs are omnivorous, with diet changing with the season. During the summer they eat green plants; in the autumn they consume acorns, walnuts and fruit. In winter when rain softens the ground, they root into the dirt with their tough noses and tusks to find bulbs, roots, insects and small animals.

They eat small amounts of meat, Mr. Nee says, including worms, grubs, insects, small animals and carrion. "Wild pigs are killing spawning salmon," he adds.

In the summer, pigs, which have no sweat glands, keep cool with a good wallow in available streams and wetlands.

The mortality of young wild pigs is high, with many dying of pneumonia, Mr. Nee says. They also carry a number of diseases.

Pigs are popular animal for sport hunters. They bring in big bucks not only to the Department of Fish and Game, but to ranchers who sell hunting permits on private land for amounts like $500 per pig. The wild pig booklet estimates that 60,000 wild pigs are taken by sport hunters each year.

"In normal years, at least 70 percent of a wild pig population must be cropped annually to result in a reduced population the following year," the booklet states.

The Department of Fish and Game also controls permits -- called depredation permits -- allowing property owners to take pigs that are doing damage. Methods include night-shooting with spotlight, and live trapping with "in-trap humane dispatch."

Dead pigs are to be delivered to the Department of Fish and Game, which could deliver them to charities for people to eat -- except that the Department of Agriculture has declared that all meat must be inspected before and after dispatch. So most meat goes to tallow factories.

Mr. Nee supports controlling pigs with fences that are 4 feet high and firmly attached to the ground so that pigs can't dig under with their strong snouts. "The best solution is fencing," he says.