Great photos, GW!

Just to confuse matters a bit, some populations of European wild boar have one more (or less) chromosome than other populations. https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/129892

France (always wishing to be a bit different) has a law that declares those of one chromosome count to be wild and those of the other chromosome count to be domestic. The literature I've seen has other European countries casting some aspersions toward the French law and expressing doubts that either chromo count is "wilder" than the other.

Regardless of "purity", most European countries are reporting significantly increased populations of wild boars -- and there are very few if any domestic escapees there since virtually all pork production is done in enclosed buildings. Whatever factor(s) that exist that have caused a population explosion in the U.S. are apparently also at work in Europe.

quote:

if I walk up to it after I shoot it, and can smell the stink from 15' away, I don't skin and eat it.

That is the best advice I have seen given concerning pigs.

quote:

Originally posted by Geedubya:
Perhaps I should be more engaged as to the morphology, I mainly just shoot, skin, cook and eat.

ya!


GWB

Interesting link to carcass yields on 8 breeds of "Heritage hogs"---
https://dhn-hes.ca.uky.edu/con...e-hog-carcass-yields

And the "critically endangered" feral hog breed from Ossabaw island:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ossabaw_Island_hog

Who knew that a type of feral hog is a "breed" and could be considered endangered?

ossabaw--like a dwarf wild hog that gets fat:

But thatv is the deal, they are endangered as a "Breed", not a species.

There are several "Endangered" breeds of Domesticated animals and birds, but that is not the same as an Endangered Species.

Endangered domestic breeds get that way simply because they do not lend themselves to commercial production as readily as other breeds or hybrids.

It even occurs with plants.

Most of the time these breeds, plants or animals arer referred to as Heritage breeds.

More adaptable/profitable/prolific breeds were developed from these Heritage Breeds which brought us to the commercial breeds that are being raised today.

Those ossabaws are neat critters.

Some years ago we had some move in this area from somewhere.
Most had the confirmation of a common old barnyard pig, but some had the "wild Boar" look.
Reverting or just a realization that of those being stocked/released came from stock that had some wild boar in their background.
Most of the pictures I see from those in Texas, they appear to be feral hogs.
They were wiped out here before they got a toehold, but could sure tear up some woodland when they came through feeding.
Looked like it had been rotatilled.

There were two in the back yard one morning both about the same height, both red, but completely different head and body.

EVERYTIME they were in the yard, I had some commitment that I had to get to and could not shoot.

Admittedly there were people buying pure european wild pigs and turning them loose, but from what I have seen/experienced here in Texas, pigs will dig out of high fence operations.

The pictures of the long snouted, long dark hair is European genes from released European hogs, at least in Texas..Lots of ranchers turned those hogs loose to sell hunts, and they bred like cockroaches..You can tell at a glance the difference..I see this morph stuff as guess and by gosh..It is man caused to increase the ranches income..It just got out of hand in Texas, and Crazy Horse is correct, you can contain hogs with a high fence, besides too many of them are trapped and sold at auction and that in itself spreads the Euro gene like wildfire..

I don't know anything about morphology but I seem to think that the control of the screw worm had a great deal to do with the increase of all wildlife mammals here in south texas

The control of the screw worm definityel;y helped the survival rate and breeding success of white tails.

NO doubt about that, deer almost tripled, and we have mule deer now in places they hardly existed in the past..