Hogs are running wild in the U.S.—and spreading disease
The nation's six million feral pigs are destroying crops and preying on endangered species. But the most serious threat they pose is to human health.
Pigs, swine, hogs, boars. Wild, feral, invasive, non-native. Whatever words you use, these tusked omnivores are more widespread in the United States than ever before.
Today, around six million feral swine run hog wild in at least 35 U.S. states, where they can grow more than five feet long and weigh more than 500 pounds. They’re adaptable creatures, capable of thriving in nearly any environment. For instance, the animals are also increasingly widespread on myriad Caribbean Islands and in Mexico, from the Baja to the Yucatán Peninsula, as well as Canada, where even deep snow and bitter cold can't slow them down. (Read how feral hogs are moving into Canada and building “pigloos.”)
What’s more,
