Origin of Feral Pigs in California

Feral Pig. Photo: Ricard Bartz CC BY SA 2.5
Feral pig. Photo: Ricard Bartz CC BY SA 2.5

Spanish ships visiting Monterey Bay in 1769 released a bunch of domestic pigs, hoping they would go forth, multiply, and be a plentiful food source for restocking their ships. This they did quite well for over 150 years, thanks to the tubers and grubs in the coastal prairies and the acorns in the woodlands.

Then in 1925, Eurasian wild boar were imported from North Carolina and released in Carmel. The feral pigs we have in coastal California today are a mix of these two stocks. About 30,000 wild pigs are hunted and killed each year in California, most in Sonoma, Mendocino, and Monterey counties.

If you want to know how to stalk, kill, and cook a wild pig, read Jack Bouleware’s article titled “Hunting Wild Boar.”



About The Author

I really enjoy field trips. I love being in a cool place and having someone tell me about it. The problem is, you can’t always find a professor or park ranger-type to tell you all they know about the local rocks, plants, and history. So I decided to combine my love of things natural with mobile technology.

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