Moose Droppings

ESPN
There is no doubt that across much of the country feral hog populations are growing leaps and bounds. Here in North Carolina what was once isolated problem in just a handful of areas is now a problem in many areas across the state. Within the feral hog population is there a strain of monster size hogs or hogzilla that will see more and more of? Stories like the National Geographic story a while back and the story of the little boy killing a monster pig has fueled speculation that such a strain exists. Both these stories have been stretched and are don’t seem to hold up to public scrutiny.

I have no doubt that there are some huge hogs out there but I believe that for a hog to exceed 1200lbs or more he either has been pen raised and released or he is being fed something to get him to grow that big. I find it hard to believe that on it’s own a pig could grow that big. We have a few large hogs in North Carolina but nothing close to the size reported in these two national stories. None the less once a hog gets over 500 lbs in my book that’s a big hog and not one I’d want to encounter in the wild with out my 30/06.

I’ll admit I missed the show last night it bumped up against the hockey game. So if your like me and missed Monster Quest there will be a few more opportunities to catch this episodes airing. The marvel of satellite TV. So check it out.

Before my Law Enforcement friends get upset at me about a derogatory name calling let me tell you what happened in Germany. Seems a car thief was captured after he fled from a stolen car into nearby woods and into the middle of a herd of wild hogs.

Police in Schwerin say the 18-year-old abandoned a stolen SUV he was driving Thursday after failing to shake off a chasing patrol car by driving into a field.
Police nabbed his passenger immediately. But they say the driver initially got away by running into nearby woods.
Officers then heard the fugitive shouting for help - he had run into a herd of angry wild boars that were keen to protect their young.
Police freed the man from the boars and took him into custody.

WRAL
A strange story for sure but far from boar ing

This past year in response to concerns over nuisance calls about bears in and around Dupont State Forest the Wildlife Commission attempted to have a limited draw hunt. That hunt was canceled because of issues around the use of dogs and the rules prevented the NCWRC from enacting such a hunt. Well the NCWRC got those rules changed and plans were being made to hold a limited draw hunt on bears and feral hogs.
The Division of Forestry Resources citing public opposition has rejected the NCWRC plans and instead has decided to “study” the bear population within the park. Opposition to the hunt cites a state forest rule that requires dogs to be on a leash but a rule that is not enforced.

Transylvania County resident Charles Parris, who represents sportsmen on the advisory committee, favored allowing the bear and raccoon hunts. Parris said dogs already roam freely in DuPont because it is hard to enforce the leash law.

He said he was not surprised by the decision, but was not happy about it.

“I still think there’s plenty of bear. I know there are,” said Parris, who hunts deer but not bear. “I still think really and truly they should have listened to the wildlife resources on it. They know the population.”

Blue Ridge

Bears and other wildlife are a renewable resource that has to be properly managed and hunting is one of the best tools to control the population. We’ll continue to follow this story.

On another note this week is bear week on Moose’s Wild America so stop by and see some of my bear photos.

Earlier I posted about the story out of Florida about the Marlins Pitcher Logan Kensing and the stir he caused when he talked about shooting feral pigs from a helicopter on a family owned ranch in Texas. This is perfectly legal in Texas despite the attempts of animal rights group to tie this activity to the illegal activities of Michael Vick. This whole thing began when Logan gave a 60 second interview to a reporter with Palm Beach Post and answered the question “What’s most interesting thing you did this off-season?”

Here is a link to the short interview. One might wonder if Logan wishes he answered the question differently if he had it to do all over? I don’t know for sure but I doubt it. Although many of us are not a pro sports figure we face these types of questions and dilemmas often in our daily life.

I’ll admit that in the past depending on my audience I may alter my response to the question “what ya do over the weekend (vacation)?” but I find myself doing that less and less. Hunting is such an important hobby in my life that I’m proud and unapologetic about what I do.

Many alter their “killing” to “harvesting” which I guess is a more pc term but we can’t hide what it is we do because it supports the argument of those who oppose us by making us look ashamed of what we do. Hunting is a tradition and really part of our American culture so be proud of it. Stand up and be ready for your 60 seconds because you never know when you’ll get your chance.

Logan Kensing a pitcher for the Florida Marlins is now in the crosshairs of the fringe left because of his off season legal actions to help manage feral pigs and coyotes by shooting them from a helicopter. Logan hunts them on a family owned ranch in Texas that they manage for deer hunting. These animal rights groups wish to tie a legal practice to a highly illegal activity of dog hunting and the Michael Vick case.

Texas as many other states are having a problem with feral hogs as they reproduce at such a fast rate that control of them is important to prevent them from destroying both native fauna and wildlife. Once again this is an attack by the wackos with a hope that the mainstream populace will follow them and oppose such wildlife control practices. They know that aerial control of certain species is used rarely but in places where it is they will protest it with the hopes they’ll gain ground on their ultimate endeavor to end the practice of killing animals for any reason and to end man’s ownership of animals.

The Palm Beach Post has a video that was provided to them by Logan I’m not sure who did the editing but it seems to try to blur the issue because it appears he is hunting deer when he is hunting hogs.

We need to stand up to these idiots and not allow a legal practice be so easily tied to an illegal practice such as dog fighting. When the Michael Vick story broke many in the animal rights community attempted to tie the practice to hunting and here we go once again.

This past spring a story that certainly made its rounds, on both traditional news outlets as well as many blogs, involving the killing of a huge hog in Alabama by an 11 year old boy with a handgun. This story caused a big stir and fueled the canned hunting debate. ESPN is now running a story from a media ethics think tank called Stinky Journalism that reports that this “hunt” is or will be the subject of a grand jury investigation.

The report on Stinky Jornalism seems to have some damming evidence that suggests that the adults involved in this situation certainly did not have this young man’s best interest in mind in this endeavor. If this report is accurate should this young man be held responsible for his actions? Good question I’m not sure there is enough information for me to really render an opinion either way.

The family has there version of the story as well.

Anyone that has doubts about feral hogs getting a strong hold here in North Carolina should check out today’s N&O. Donald Strickland took this huge pig in Nash County.

“He stunk like a rodeo goat,” Strickland said.
A backhoe was used to load the hog into Strickland’s pickup truck, and a trip over to the Tri-County Peanut Warehouse scale in Enfield confirmed a weight of 780 pounds. It measured 6 feet, 9 inches long from nose to tail.

Check out the rest of the story at the N&O although no records are kept on feral hogs it is believed that this is the largest one ever taken in the state.