Invasive Wild Pigs Leave a Swath of Destruction Across U.S. – And They Keep Spreading

They go by many names: wild boar, wild hog, razorback, Eurasian boar, feral swine. But whatever you call them, invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are wreaking environmental havoc and spreading rapidly. Wild pigs were first brought to the southern U.S. in the 1500s as a source of food for early explorers and settlers, and repeated introductions occurred thereafter. In the 1900s, the Eurasian or Russian wild boar was introduced to the U.S. for sport hunting. Today’s invasive wild pigs are the descendents of introduced wild boar, escaped domestic pigs, and hybrids of the two.

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