ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, December 25, 1995 TAG: 9512280090
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
Maybe some hunters view the wild hogs showing up in Southwest Virginia as an exiting new game species, but state and federal wildlife officials believe the animals can have disastrous consequences. "This is a new species coming into a natural environment," said David Olson, a spokesman for the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. "The effects of exotic species over history - look at gypsy moths, for example, and zebra mussels - when there are no natural predators, you start seeing some big problems."
Betsy Stinson, a wildlife biologist for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, is quick to volunteer a list of potential problems. Hogs can compete with deer, turkeys and song birds for food. They will eat everything from the eggs of ground-nesting birds to salamanders to wild flowers. Their rooting can disrupt the soil, reducing nutrients and damaging seedlings and wildlife plantings. They can harbor infectious diseases and damage farm crops.
The hogs have been showing up in the Gatewood section of Pulaski County and the Mill Creek section of Wythe County. Some have been spotted on national forest land.
``We don't know whether people are bringing these thing in, having caught them in the wilds someplace, or whether they are simply going to producers, who are raising them in captivity, and stocking them in hopes that subsequent populations will become wild,'' said Bob Duncan, chief of the game department's wildlife division.
``And they will become wild,'' Duncan said. ``It doesn't take a pig population long to revert to a feral state.''
Populations of free-ranging wild hogs are found in about 20 states. In some areas, they are a popular target of hunters.
``It is an intelligent animal, often difficult to hunt,'' said Bob Gooch, a writer from Troy who is author of a book titled "Hunting Boar, Hogs and Javelina." ``And pressed into a corner, it can be dangerous, enough so to add an element of risk. Danger provides a heady thrill to any big game hunt. The heads and tusks of the animal make fine trophies, and the meat can be delicious on the table.''
While Gooch said he had enjoyed hunting hogs in a number of states, he is quick to add that the animals can be disruptive to soils and native plants and animals.
Gooch believes that if the hogs are a potential problem in Virginia, the way to control them is through a hunting season. But wildlife officials at this point say they simply are attempting to educate people on the potential harm of the hogs.
``I don't think there is a clear program of control established yet, but the key message is to prevent them from getting out in the first place,'' said Olson.
Officials are aware of a dozen or so hogs that have been reported killed. One was killed when it reportedly attacked a hunter's grouse dog. Three were killed on private property during the Thanksgiving holidays, Stinson said.
``One sow was about 160 pounds field dressed and another was about 130 pounds field dressed, and the boar was about 150 pounds field dressed,'' she said. ``They were quite large. You get an illustration of how prolific they are by the sows carrying 18 fetuses between them.''
State and federal officials are expected to discuss strategy on dealing with hogs in early March, said Skip Griep, a national forest wildlife biologist.
``I know there are people out there who are genuinely interested in hogs,'' said Duncan, who did his graduate work on the wild boars of Tennessee.
``What I would say to people right now, we think that our monies and efforts are better spent on native wildlife, even through I have a soft spot in my heart for hogs,'' he said. ``I am not an advocate of introducing an exotic animal like hogs, because once they are established they are virtually impossible to get rid of.''
Officials in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in removing nearly 7,500 hogs from park property since 1977.
When park official Bob Miller heard about the hogs showing up in Southwest Virginia, he had a terse message for Olson.
``You don't want 'em!'' he said.
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Feral hogs areby CNBshy and intelligent animals that ravel. Their rooting activities can
be disruptive to native plants and animals. color. Graphic by staff.
color.