There are “hybrid creatures” rampaging through California’s wild places, you say? Are we talking about blood-sucking Bigfoot-Chupacabra cross-bred monstrosities that escaped from a secret lab in the Hollywood Hills? Nah, it’s just a pig. But like, a really, really mean pig with little tusks that can mess up kids and pets pretty badly. They weigh up to 250 pounds, carry diseases, tear up the land, and can accidentally bash into cars. And while the San Francisco Bay Area’s Contra Costa and Santa Clara Counties have seen a particular influx of porcine savagery, these domesticated-wild hybrid pigs have actually infiltrated 56 out of 58 California counties. And, in case you missed the “domesticated” part, yes — humans are to blame.
In a weird, completely preventable twist on the typical invasive species tale, California’s hybrid pigs are actually a crossbreed of once-domesticated pigs and wild boars. Colonizers from Spain first brought (and released) pigs in California in the 1700s, followed by Russian settlers in the 1800s. Then, in the mid-1800s, California pioneers unrelatedly killed off their main predators, the bear. Come the 1920s, wealthy Canadian George Gordon Moore brought over the European boar — where he brilliantly released some of them for him and his rich friends to hunt.
Fast forward to the present, after decades of unregulated crossbreeding, and there’s something else to worry about while poking around California’s wild places besides all the lethal trails in Yosemite National Park. Thankfully, there’s no word about any of these menaces having penetrated downtown Los Angeles just yet — so locals can still roll down hip streets like Cahuenga Corridor to their heart’s content. Just be careful about setting your rhinestone-collared Chihuahua on the ground — it’d make a good target for pig-on-dog violence.
How to stay safe from California’s hybrid pig menace
At present, there’s no consensus on how many hybrid pig-boars are roaming around California’s green places. The good news is that they don’t really care too much about people and aren’t likely to mob you while you’re out in your backyard. In fact, they care more about churning up the soil to find bugs, acorns, amphibians — or anything, really — to eat. Nonetheless, they and their poop also present a threat to water management, yards, and farmers. Nationally, wild pigs cause more than $1.5 billion in damages every year. And while they’re more pests than anything, we can consider them collectively more dangerous than bears or cougars — even if only because there’s more of them.
Short of a full-on extermination by park officials, it falls on residents and travelers to exert caution while traveling around California. This is especially true because, as Dana Sage of Santa Clara County Parks told the Los Angeles Times, “Things are only going to get worse.” Wild pigs have been classified as game mammals in California since 1957, which means there’s always the possibility of employing a tried-and-true American solution: guns. That said, licenses to hunt wild pigs have been required since 1992, so proceed with caution. Additionally, there’s also a big, 39-page manual from the state of California dating to 2001 that outlines all the details about when, where, and how to hunt wild pigs.
Beyond violent measures, people can opt for the same common sense methods of self-protection that they already employ when hiking. Keep away from pigs if you see them and don’t run, stay on the trail at all times, and always keep an eye on your pets and kids. After all, pig tusks and teeth can do serious damage.
