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She returned to feeding on the
newly sprouted grasses. I continued on my errand to
the grocery store. I needed to purchase cheese for
our resident orange-tipped Amazon parrot, Babba
Louie.
Yes, Babba has an appetite for
cheese since his former owner used to feed him
macaroni. We noticed that all he did was lick and
pick at the cheese and drop the noodle, so we
eliminated the pasta. Don’t worry, we feed him the
low fat version and balance his diet with veggies,
nuts, seeds and fruit. But, let’s get back to the
pigs.
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We know mother hog stayed along
the roadside for a while, because volunteer George
Hindmarsh reported the sighting when he came into
the office on his regular Monday morning. He had not
seen the hidden babies. They were staying where
momma put them.
We have witnessed some fierce mother
instincts here at the Alligator Creek site.
Last year, just about this late in the wet
season, a gentleman jogger was charged by a
female hog (usually the male boar |
| is the more aggressive). It
seems the jogger had passed a
recently-killed piglet, as he ran his usual
trail. When he interrupted his morning
workout to check out the carcass, the hog
ran at him from her guard post in the saw
palmetto thicket. Of course, he sprinted
away. |
As near as we can figure, the
victim was probably a bobcat kill. Mother hog, most
likely, prevented the wild cat from eating his prey.
She then held vigil near her offspring’s body. So
much for a serene run through the woods!
These big old pigs have many
titles: old world swine, European wild hog, sus
scrofa species from the Family Suidae, wild boar,
feral pig or razorback (which one reference claims
are domestic pigs gone wild). Regardless of their
name they are considered to be exotic, introduced
animals here in the United States.
The Audubon Field Guide to North American
Mammals credits the |
 |
| Germans with bringing 50
native European boars to a hunting preserve
in the Blue Mountains of New Hampshire in
1893. Russians shared their herds in the
early 1900’s with North Carolina and
released more in California in 1925.
“America’s wild swine elsewhere are hybrids
or feral hogs descended from purely domestic
stock,” claims author John O. Whitaker. |
I beg your pardon! We, of
course, know full well that the Spanish explorers
loaded their barbecue-ready livestock aboard their
ships bound for Florida shores over 500 years ago.
This Burnt Store Road bunch can probably claim Ponce
De Leon’s personal pigs as predecessors.
Fact or folklore aside, the
status of Florida hogs according to the University
of Florida is domestic, semidomestic, feral,
introduced and immigrant. In other words, who knows?
There has been much incessant interbreeding. We do
know that they can tear up a habitat and even CHEC
board member Ed Schnabel’s yard. Most regard them as
noxious pests. Nevertheless this useless immigrant
preys on snake eggs, leaf-eating beetles and their
rooting aids the regeneration of cypress trees.
Because hogs are a big hunting attraction, they
provide income and food as well.
The momma hog we have been
spotting has no knowledge of the conflicting stories
she generates. She’s just doing what comes naturally
– raising her brood. 
Please click here for additional information
or if you would like to contact the
author of this article, Monica Dorken. Thank you!
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