Wild pigs can cause a variety of damage. The most common complaint is rooting (sometimes called grubbing), resulting in the destruction of crops and pastures. Damage to farm ponds and watering holes for livestock is another common problem. Predation on domestic stock and wildlife has been a lesser problem in North America.
Damage to crops and rangeland by wild pigs is easily identified. Rooting in wet or irrigated soil is generally quite visible but can vary from an area of several hundred square feet (m2) or more to only a few small spots where the ground has been turned over. Rooting destroys pasture, crops, and native plants and can cause soil erosion. Wallows are easily seen around ponds and streams, and logs, trees, and fence posts near wallows are often "rubbed" by pigs leaving a visible coating of mud on them. Tracks of adult hogs resemble those made by a 200-pound (90-kg) calf. Where ground is soft, dewclaws will show on adult hog tracks.
Wild pig depredation on certain forest tree seedlings has been a concern of foresters in the South and West. Wild pigs have destroyed fragile plant communities in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and other preserves. They have been known to damage fences when going into gardens and can do considerable damage to a lawn or golf course in a single night.
In California, wild pigs have entered turkey pens, damaging feeders, eating the turkey feed, and allowing birds to escape through damaged fences. Wild pigs in New South Wales, Australia, reportedly killed and ate lambs on lambing grounds. Producers in Texas and California reported to USDA-APHIS-Wildlife Services that 1,473 sheep, goats, and exotic game animals were killed by wild pigs in 1991. Predation usually occurs on lambing or calving grounds, and some hogs become highly efficient predators. Depredation to calves and lambs can be difficult to identify because these small animals may be killed and completely consumed, leaving little or no evidence to determine whether they were killed or died of other causes and then were eaten. Determining predation by wild hogs is possible if carcasses are not entirely eaten, because feral hogs follow a characteristic feeding pattern on lambs.
Resources: (online)
Wild Pigs
