Everything is bigger in Texas - even hazards on golf courses.
A team of three trappers and dogs recently caught and removed a 400-pound feral hog at Gateway Hills Golf Course at Lackland Air Force Base just outside San Antonio.
Wyatt Walton of Lone Star Trapping hunts feral hogs for a living. He has trapped more than 3,000 of them in the past three years, and said the 411-pound porker seized on Sept. 12 is the largest he has ever caught. According to Texas A&M, hogs in Texas, and there are a lot of them, typically run in the 200-300-pound range. Walton’s recent catch required the help of three dogs, one hunting dog to track the beast and two specially trained animals to grab it and hold it down until the trapper arrived to kill and dispose of it.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department says hogs of various species were introduced into the state nearly 300 years ago by European explorers and likely escaped into the wild during the Texas Revolution in 1835-36. Since then, they’ve crossbred with one another at an alarming rate.
A model of evolution, feral hogs are able to reproduce as early as 6 months of age and can go through two reproductive cycles per year with as many as 12 piglets in each litter.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture there were more than 5 million feral hogs in 39 states across the country with more than 1.5 million roaming the Texas countryside - five years ago. They’ll eat plants and animal matter - and each other if need be to survive.
According to a story on CNBC, hogs cause more than $2 billion in damage to crops and property per year while they root for food. According to estimates, hogs are responsible for about $400 million in damage per year in Texas, where it is legal to hunt them without a license.