Guests on Tejon Ranch Conservancy’s events know well that we
aren’t the biggest fans of the wild pigs (Sus
scrofa) that inhabit the property. Aside from being non-native species, the
pigs are:
1. Destructive- rooting and creating erosion on
steep slopes, wallowing in creek bottoms, and possibly even eating some of the
rare plants and animals of the ranch-
2.
Prolific-
females are sexually viable at an early age, have a short gestation, and give
birth to multiple young at once.
Today’s Wildlife Wednesday shows a sounder (yes, a group of
pigs is called a sounder) running through Tunis creek late last summer. Although
the piglets are admittedly pretty cute, when we see them, we think about the acorns they are eating, which means
fewer for the deer, black bear, jays, and acorn woodpeckers; not to mention the
pressure that puts on regeneration of Tejon Ranch’s 80,000 acres of oak
woodland. We think about the hillsides torn apart by the pigs’ rooting for
bulbs in spring.
Fortunately, because the 2008 Ranch-wide Agreement which
established Tejon Ranch Conservancy was so forward-thinking, there is something
we can do about it. Already, the Conservancy is collaborating with the Tejon
Ranch Company’s hunting program to expand the harvest of pigs. The Conservancy identified
wild pigs as a principal threat to native biodiversity in its 2013 Ranch-wide
Management Plan. We will be spending the next several years trying to
understand the geography and ecology of the wild pig population on Tejon Ranch,
which will inform our management strategies. Already, we are benefiting from
the work of a UCSB Bren School of Environmental Management project all about
the pigs on Tejon Ranch.
Understanding these complex behaviors, demographics, and
implications will take some time. We are hiring a Wildlife Technician to start
monitoring pigs and the damage they cause. Despite the long-term nature of this
issue, Tejon Ranch Conservancy is excited to help advance the management of
wild pig populations for the benefit of agencies, partners, and interested
parties throughout the state. To find out a little bit more about these
fascinating creatures and their impacts on habitats across the country, check
out these resources:
2013 Bren School Tejon Ranch Wild Pig Project Page: http://tejonchanchos.weebly.com/index.html
California Department of Fish and Wildlife Wild Pig
Management Program Description Page: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/hunting/pig/
Missisippi State University Wild Pig Info Site: http://wildpiginfo.msstate.edu/
Smithsonian Magazine Article from January 2011: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/a-plague-of-pigs-in-texas-73769069/?page=1
