Good Lord! I've never seen any wild boars or bears much less in my backyard! Today, I saw 3 young, ALIVE armadillos (must be a guiness book of records event...them being alive and all). Brave little armored rats, just looked at me when I yelled at them to go away. They finally took off when I threw some rocks their way.

I live on the North side of Table Rock Lake in Stone County...surrounded by National Forest, so I expected some wild animals, but we get more than our share. I am pretty sure the wild hogs are the result of early settlers letting them run loose. They are getting out of hand now. You just think Armadillos are bad until you have seen the damage to a garden done by hogs. We have bee hives, and they don't mix well with bears. We have had a hog hit on the road, and nearly everyone out here has seen them or had them walk out into the road in front of their vehicle. Bears are much more illusive unless someone thinks they are cute and feeds a young one...usually gets the bear killed in the end.

Good Grief, Millie! Aren't wild hogs supposed to be very mean and dangerous? So far, we just have the occasional Armadillo. I saw one in my yard a couple of years ago and for a minute my mind went blank and I thought what is that thing? It was standing on its hindlegs upright. It stayed around a day then disappeared. I never realized they rooted in the ground like hogs.

Will the MDC do anything about these animals if they get too close?

GD

GD, yes, they can be dangerous. One of my neighbors was charged while trying to get rid of one...he had to kill it..then he had a 350 pound old bore hog on his hands to dispose of.

The MDC did kill quite a herd of them that were causing trouble after a land fill was closed down..it had been their food source. They put out a warning that if they belonged to anyone, they had a week to reclaim them before they would start shooting them, but they knew where to find them. Trouble is, these are loose in hundreds of square miles of National Forest...where do you start to look? They don't stay put...it is going to end up our responsibility to thin them out as they become a problem.

We had a grandson-in-law chased up a tree by one while bow hunting...it is not safe to go into the woods unarmed anymore. A female with a new litter of pigs may be more dangerous than an old bore hog. Bears are a minor problem by comparison, unless someone has taken their natural fear of humans away.

Millie
We're seeing a resurgence of feral pigs here in my neck of the woods, too - and all indications are that they've been released by a small group of folks who like to hunt them and train 'catch dogs' on 'em.
We've had reports of these hog hunters going down to south GA, catching hogs, then bringing 'em back to KY/TN and kicking 'em out the back gate of the stock trailer as they cruise along the edge of the Ft. Campbell Army base and nearby Land Between the Lakes.
On Ft. Campbell, the hogs are running in the 46,000 acre 'impact area' - where the Army does artillery practice - lots of unexploded ordnance in there, so no one can go in after them. They come out into the adjacent crop fields, devastate them(one local farmer re-planted several fields three times last year before he gave up), then go back to the relative safety of the impact area. They've tried shooting them from helicopters, with little success, and have been baiting/trapping with better luck, but we'll still have to see how much impact it'll have on the feral swine population that appears to be pretty well established now.

Well I've decided not to complain about the feral cats I've been seeing.
Did anyone see the "Hogzilla" special that was on T.V. awhile back? I think they concluded that Hogzilla wasn't quite as huge as was claimed but still pretty darn big.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hogzilla

Lucky,

There is some evidence we may have some of the same going on here. One of my neighbors told me that a hunter was bragging to them that they come equipped with dogs and mules to hunt them in the Piney Creek Wilderness area, which is between where I live and the nearest Hwy to the west. This all came about in the last 10 years or so. They have to use mules because motorized vehicles are not allowed in the Wilderness area.

Amazing what an animal can turn into "home". The impact area at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma was home to herds of deer back in the 60s and 70s. Of course that is Field Artillery and many miles of "fly over" territory. Must not have been much unexploded ordnance, because they drew lots for deer hunting areas in that impact area.

Think I will take a more predictable bear every time. Just hope they are not drawn to the bee hives we have inside the yard.

We live 11.5 miles East (Left) of this little wide spot in the road called Shell Knob. If people will leave the real wildlife alone, there is plenty of room for them to live without coming in contact with people.

Here is a link that might be useful: Shell Knob, Missouri

Hubby has been wanting to go hog hunting sometime. He went once about 8 years ago in your area. Just never did find anything. Piney Creek is a pretty area, you sure are lucky to be down there.
Feral hogs are a nuisance in Mo. MDC says that there is NOT a season on hogs, all a person needs is a small game hunting license. We were being told to look for hogs while out deer hunting last year. Being told to kill them while we were out there. I live in Jasper County and they are getting close to home here. Several have been seen in the Jasper/Lamar area.
Be careful
Tammy

TammyJ, it is a beautiful place to live, but has been interesting. I am a native, but things have sure changed over the years. First we were told to stay out of the woods because of pot growers and now it's hogs. I understand, since posting this, that they have been seen several times in my area. I live several miles on out East of the Piney Creek wilderness area...in some ways more out of the way. You know that if you go far enough East the road ends at the James River. Another neighbor just told me he saw a young mountain lion (Cougar), just this week, that looked black in the twilight. I understand they can be quite dark in color during their first year. Does that agree with what others know to be true? I questioned the possibility of it being a bear, but they said it had a long tail. Of course, I knew they were here...saw one myself and so did my son while visiting. It is hard to find anyone who had been here any length of time that has not seen one. Between Mark Twain National Forest and Pine Creek Wilderness area, there is a lot of area for large animals out here, and we have the deer population for food.

I think bow hunting would be a dangerous sport these days. Thanks to everyone for listening to me grumble.

In our local paper (Houston Herald) last week it was reported a black bear had been sighted north of town for the second time.

I have never seen a live armadillo but sure do see lots of dead ones along the highway. Have heard they can really mess up your yard digging for grubs, etc.

DH has seen a strange varmint here which we have decided is a ringtail cat. It is larger than a housecat with a long bushy tail with rings and it's face looks somewhat fox like. When it sees DH it goes into a trench silo we roofed to hold hay. I looked it up online after BIL said that might be what it was. Hope it eats the mice, etc. living in the hay. We wondered if she/he has a family in the hay shed.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ringtail Cat

You don't want to see a live armadillo in your yard. I had one tunnel under a large, well established, forsythia bush and nearly kill it. They make a hole large enough to roll a bowling ball into. I have had them tunnel under raised beds, and recently had one tearing up my asparagus bed. Sorry if anyone is offended, but I feed them a diet of lead as quickly as I get a chance. I tend to be a bit of a night owl, so that ended up my job...DH hauls them off to the woods after I do the dirty deed.

Susy, I don't have a clue if that could be what was called Civet Cat around here when I was a kid or not... smelled like a skunk to me. Cute little rascal and very capable from the article. I just remember grandpa saying that he smelled a Civet Cat on occasion....I couldn't tell the difference.

The hog problem is going to get way out of hand here. That neighbor has now caught 88 hogs, and he is not the only one trapping. There have been problems with the hunter's dogs chasing cattle. No respect for fences, etc. Hay fields are being destroyed. They are being hauled in from out of State...we have been asked to get tags numbers from trucks pulling cattle trailors. Only one farm with cattle on my end of the road, so not hard to determine that they don't belong. This is not just sport for the members of some club, but a big money making thing.

And here I thought living near all this National Forest was going to be a good thing.

Very late last night the National Geographic channel had a thing about Hogzilla. In the show they showed a map of the spread of wild hogs, the area has spread clear up into Canada.

The show supposedly determined the weight of Hogzilla. My little brother had a sow that when he sold her she weighted 1,000 pounds and was smaller than the picture of Hogzilla. Although they said Hogzilla was a mix of wild pig and Hampshire Hogzilla looked more like a Duroc, the same type as my brothers hog.

The only reason I still remember was that when he sold her there a strike had started that day and the price was $1.00 per pound. Quite a payout to a 11 year old.

My neighbor said he killed a wild hog less than a mile from me, and I didn't really believe him. This is McDonald County. I have never seen one here and I've lived here 35 years.

Ten years ago, when I lived in the Lower Buffalo River Wilderness Area, wild hogs were a real problem. The will eat just about anything and when the Turkey were nesting, would kill the hens and eat them and their eggs. Game dept. and Park rangers declared it "Open Season" year round for feral hogs. As to them being "dangerous"? 30 yrs ago, I lived in the Ouchita Mnts, south of Mena, Ark. and that one summer went on a search and rscue mission to find a 6 yr old girl who had wandered off and got lost. all that was found was part of a foot and two shoes- with a lot of large hog prints in the area!! Several of thiose huge feral hogs were caught and penned up behind the sale barn at Potters Junction, as a "tourist attraction" Really huge, just short of a shetland pony size.

People are releasing feral hogs for "sport". They let them go and then return in a year or two and kill them. The hogs quickly become invasive and wreck havoc throughtout the forest. I was hiking up a small drainage along the Buffalo River in NW Ark a couple of years back, and the creek was totally wrecked by a hog or hogs. All along the banks there was only mud where it should have been covered with mosses, ferns, and herbs. This is in a wilderness area, it should be totally pristine. I'm not a big hunter, but I wish everyone would kill out these invaders, and there should be stiff penalties for releasing invasive exotic species in wilderness areas.

if someone would tell me where the hogs are i would love to hunt them because they are a nusince animale

Have had a couple of bear come through our yard before but so far no armadillos. The only feral hog is one owned by a nuisence neighbor. DD has promised to shoot the thing if it steps one foot on our land.
you guys keep up the good work and keep all that stuff off our mountain. LOL
vickie

Hi, my name is Allen and I am a hunter education instructor with the MDC. A friend and I have been chasing feral hogs in Missouri for a couple of yeas now with no success. If anyone is experiencing problems or has recent sitings, I would love to hear from you. Thank you

Chasing feral hogs is like chasing deer.

- Stay camouflaged
- Try to minimize your scent
- Don't move (hogs have poor eyesight, but are great at detecting movement.
- Learn to read signs (ie. tracks, wallows, rubs)
- Feral pigs are smart and turn nocturnal when they experience hunting pressure, so you need to hunt from dusk to dawn
- hang out near the corn or whatever they like to eat in your area.
- Know the killzone of the hog anatomy. It's different from a deer. Shoot for the area above the front leg and the neck.
- Use a good spotlight with a filter so the bright light does not frighten them, especially if you are baiting them.

***BEFORE YOU SHOOT, you must identify a tree you can quickly climb to escape if things go bad!***

-Good luck.

I also hunt and trap feral pigs (wild hogs)for free. I live in Coosa but will travel. I would be glad to discuss your problem via e-mail or phone. 706-234-4618 please leave message if not answered. Thanks

I'm in Barry Co., and we have had a huge problem with wild hogs hanging out at our creek and running with our cattle. My brother has shot about 4 of them so far, and one was hit by a car on the highway just yesterday. But there are still more, including piglets. These are not feral hogs, but Javelinas brought up from the SW by a neighbor for hunting.

They are hairy, brown/black/gray and have tusks. The boars only reach about the size of a medium dog, but they are heavy, superfast, and clever.

There are no hogs "leftover" from when old settlers let them run loose. In our area people from other places have bought land, made up hunting clubs, then went to Texas or LA and brought back wild hogs by the truckload and turned them loose. Of course, they spread out everywhere.
We also have bear. I have had one on my porch and we have had them in the yard more than once. And also the ever present armadillo. We had no bears and no armadillos when I was growing up. We got the bears in the 50's, compliments of Fish and Game. Armadillos apparently migrated in during the 60's. Then came another nuisance---After the Park Service made people sell them land along the Buffalo River, their next move was to bring in elk. So now they are here, destroying gardens, fruit trees, eating pastures and wallowing down the grass in the hay meadows.

Spokeplant -
Where are you located? I'm interested in where people have seen bears, besides Shell Knob (which is far too close to me...). I've heard of people saying they saw (even shot) bears in Barry County in the 1970s, but a lot of folks never believed that. Anyone have any idea of the numbers, distribution, etc. of bears in SWMO?

I'm not a big fan of the elk, but if the National Park wasn't there, the Buffalo would've turned into 2 huge lakes. Just think, one of the country's finest rivers would be just another couple of crappy lakes.

I hunt hogs if anyone is interested in having me come and help kill some. I will load up my dogs and be there as soon as I can. If anyone is interested in haveing me come out go to my website for contact info. catcreek.tripod.com

Ever hear of the Arkansas Razorbacks? Guess where the name came from... Razorback hogs, they are called, because they are so thin from eating in the wild it is said they can turn sideways in a stiff breeze and fly. Well, I'm not sure exactly who said that first...

And I'm not too sure of the origins of wild hogs in the Ozarks, either, but they've been here as long as I can remember. We make two distinctions, feral hogs, and Russians. The Russians were obviously released here at some point in the past, they are the wild-looking ones. I had always assumed that the ferals had just escaped, but what ya'll are saying about them being released for the purpose of hunting sounds plausible.

I used to hunt them at the same time we were hunting deer. I always stationed myself near a climbable tree when we knew they were around. One time I found myself in the midst of a group of them. It was scary, because in the tall grass I couldn't see them, only hear their jaws popping in annoyance. I climbed the tree pretty quickly...

I've been afraid of pigs since I was a child - one of our friends fell down in the pen with an old boar and was nearly eaten alive.

Anyway, no pigs on our farm that I'm aware of, but there are bears and my wife saw a large cat crossing the road a few months ago - something with a long tail, so it wasn't just a bobcat. We also have lots of deer and turkey, along with those funny but troublesome 'coons, and all the other usual wildlife.

im interested in hunting some hogs. i hunt with my family and there is usually about 6 or so of us. if anyone has any information or knows any good public or private land we could hunt, please email me. thanks

I would love the opportunity to go hog hunting in MO. I hunt with only one dog, and he doesn't chase. He is just the Nose I don't have, and he works close to me. I can promise precision fire.

i would love to hunt hogs in mo. if you email me at halejanet@peoplepc,com thanks

Ww have wild or feral hogs here in southwest Washington County Arkansas also. The first showed up about 12 years ago. Sow had a litter between the rows of hay stored outside. In 12 years they have over-run the territory. Biggest issue is the destruction of pastures and hay medows. We have trapped and either sold or butchered dozens each year for the past several years. Hunters usually bring the numbers down during deer season. But with no real natural preadators, their numbers continue to climb. For our area, the true Razorback has been extinct for a very long time. What we are seeing are domistic animals turned feral. They have migrated here or been hauled in. I live 1 mile from the national forest. Nothing between me and Fort Smith but Lee Creek. Hogs will turn feral quicker than any other animal. About 3 generations is all it takes, or less than 5 years.

Had the same issue with the armidilo many years back. We would go out on a sunny warm winter day and have killed up to 30 in an afternoon. They would come out on days like that and were easy to spot in the sun shine as they dug around in the pastures. It took several years to get their numbers down enough that a man didn't have to spend a couple weeks filling holes in his hay medows.

Bears arn't that big a problem here. Had a teenager tear into our Church/community building a couple of times. Game and Fish asked us to wait until spring to see if the youngster would move on, if not they would trap him. And move on he did. I still see one or two a year.

Supposed to be cats here as will. I've never seen one, but others have. All in all, those hogs are the worst all the way around. More dangerous, more destructive and by far more difficult to control. Good Luck folks.....

I am interested in the opportunity to help your feral hogs problem if you are a private land owner located in Arkansas or Mississippi. I'm located in Memphis, TN and willing to travel at my own expense. Contact me @ wildsco99@aol.com if you are intrested. I'm looking farward to take the trip with a few friends toward your destination but only on a given weekend .**WE WILL RID YOU OF YOUR HOGS PROBLEM FOR FREE**

Problem with feral hogs. I have a very small group of guys that will come to your area and help lower the population of the hogs. We hunt on foot from a truck parking area, we use dogs for quail hunting not hog hunting.We are very land smart and will not do any harm to the property. Only the hog population. If you are interested give me an e-mail.
Thanks for your time.

If anyone is in need of help dealing with feral hogs I will be happy to help out. I hunt with 3-4 other guys who are all very respectful and will leave the property as good if not better than we entered it. no dogs used but if property is large enough we might ask to bring horses. only precision shots would be taken and we would work to take as many animals as possible.

If anyone is interested email me and we can go from there. jmstoesz@gmail.com

When we first moved here, in the Ozarks, I saw the tracks of a small bear, and heard a large cat. But, last week I saw a small feral hog, the next day my husband tried to film 2 of them coming up our creek. They were small about 15 pounds, so where was their mother and how did they get here? I have never seen any indication of them being here, no rutting, nothing. I am hoping to catch them in a baited pen, feed them well, then roast them this July for my son's wedding. Good luck to me as I have no idea how to do this (catch a wild pig). But, I am a quick learner and have been watching the show about Wild Hogs. Don't worry I will probably never do this, but one can dream, right!

For anyone doing any hog hunting in or around the Eastern Missouri regions let me know. I am a precision shooter, just don't have a good hunting group (yet). I am available 3 days a week and can suplement your hunting groups. Please feel free to contact me at my email (no solicitations please).

Looking 4 a place 2 hunt hogs i use a muzzleloader or bow, no high-power weapons. Thanks

Interested in hunting feral hogs. Let me hear from you. Thanks

With any of yall still having problems on your property and still need some help in disposing wild hogs, me and a few friends would be more than happy to help trap, hunt, and dispose any hog unwanted. With the permission of any lands owner in the area, we would be more than glad to do it for free. Please feel free to email me at anytime and thank you.

If Anyone is still having trouble with wild hogs and would be willing to let me and 1 other person come and harvest them i would be willing to do so as i have always wanted to hunt wild hogs and have a family member that is wanting to also If you think i could help you out at no charge let me know by email Thanks