For those who live in the Southern United States:

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I have to write a research paper on an invasive species and why it's causing problems in it's environment. I've decided that I wanted to do mine on the wild hogs that I've heard are a really big problem down there. If you have any personal experience with wild hogs, please don't hesitate to write about it. I wanted a direct source of people who have dealt with them, and I need to know how it affected your life if you have dealt with them before (or deal with them on a regular basis). I would appreciate any replies.

So far, I know that pigs were introduces to North America a few centuries ago, when immigrants brought them over because they thought the pigs would be harmless. I learned that they would eat all of the native's unguarded crops and was considered a big menace, and that they eventually evolved into the dangerous animals that we know today. I have the generic story out of the way, but I'm still not aware of how it directly affects people today.

Thank you in advance.

I've seen them, but I don't really think they were a big problem or anything where I lived (Mississippi/Louisiana). People hunt them, and sometimes you will see them in the wild (they can be mean if you aren't careful) or see places they dug up, but other than that no one really talks about them. A much larger problem where I'm from is nutria. Disgusting little animals, those things! Imported from South America, too!

I live in a large city. Coyotes and armadillos have begun to roam about at night but no wild hogs as far as I know. Maybe try watching that ridiculous episode of Man vs. Wild where Bear Grylls "encountered" one out in the Alabama woods. Or maybe PM OliveOilMom if she doesn't respond to the post.. She lives in a more rural area.

Long before they began to sensationalize the feral pigs on cable TV I read a book called "the Alien Animals" about the problem of introduced wild life.

The book had a chapter about an 1890's millionaire playboy scion of some industrialist who created his own fenced in game preserve (like a private national park) in the North Carolina Appalachians. He stocked the place with imported Russian wild boars so he, and his buddies, could have fun hunting wild boars -which was the fashionable sport for young male European aristocrats of that time.

But eventually he got bored with the boars.

He finally got rid of the game preserve. The neglected fencing fell down. And now the descendants of these boars still roam wild in that part of North Carolina.

Throughout the south feral pigs seemed to revert to characteristics of their boar ancestors (get leaner and meaner and the males get tusks). But there may also be some genetic input from these imported Russian boars as well.

Just one more angle you might look into.

I've heard of wild hogs, but I also have never seen them other than on television.

Yes.

500 pounds of low-lying, fast-running, territorial rage ... and about 200 to 300 pounds of some of the finest pork you'll ever eat!

I have ran into them in the woods,my son and I ran like crazy.He has hunted them.They are good to eat.Many people trap them and then fatten them on corn.They are very destructive to turkey eggs and other animals that lay eggs in the ground.The park service tries to keep them off park because of the danger that tourists could be in.
http://www.katv.com/story/21292711/ar-g ... feral-hogs

I no longer live in the south, but I grew up there and my family still lives there. When I was a kid there weren't really any wild hogs in my area. It was a big deal when my uncle found and shot one when I was 14. Now they're all over the place. My family raises cattle (not as a main means of employment but as extra income) and the hogs will tear up the fields we keep them in and leave just exposed dirt, which the grass takes a bit to recover from. They also get into any crops you try to grow.

My family has never had any dangerous encounters with them but I do worry, especially since my family does have some pretty young (10 and under) kids that love being outside.

My family has trapped a few hogs and fed them as Misslizard said, they're invasive and destructive as hell but they apparently make for some great pork.

http://youtu.be/0JYBlKNMKLs