Feral Pigs

[dogs-n-natives 1,181]

I know that theres feral pigs in Aus, and the States. But what breed of pig are they derived from? Or could it be a few breeds?

[FJager 0]

Mate, depends on the area in Aust. In the far north most the pigs are asian wild boar bought in by asian boats and the like a long time ago. Also the early sailors used to release domestic types and wild types they caught in different places throughout the South Pacific as a future food source for themselves and other sailors. Most of the rest of the population is heavily domestic but they have evolved into smaller, extremely hardy animals and are predominately black, with gingerbeing fairly common in some areas, very rarely you see a white or pink pig though, so I suppose to answer your question there are a few breeds in them, hope this helps.

 

I hear a lot of talk come out of the US about Russian wild strain.

[dogs-n-natives 1,181]

Cheers FJager!

 

I had always wondered why they had that wild look about them!

 

Thanks again for a very informative answer

 

Dogs-n-natives

Edited May 7, 2008 by dogs-n-natives

[bigboydan 0]

Cheers FJager!

 

I had always wondered why they had that wild look about them!

 

Thanks again for a very informative answer

 

Dogs-n-natives

 

gday mate, i lived in the northern territory in oz [darwin] and shot many pigs over the years, as jager says they are predominantly black and very heavily built. the boars have a 3/4inch thick fighting plate made of gristle that goes up around the neck and on to the chest and shoulders. the biggest proper boar i ever saw weighed 150kg and the biggest iv shot,was just over 120kgs. "the sporting shooter of australia assoc " "SSAA" has a web site that is crammed with boar pics and articles.

[iamduvern 62]

Mate, depends on the area in Aust. In the far north most the pigs are asian wild boar bought in by asian boats and the like a long time ago. Also the early sailors used to release domestic types and wild types they caught in different places throughout the South Pacific as a future food source for themselves and other sailors. Most of the rest of the population is heavily domestic but they have evolved into smaller, extremely hardy animals and are predominately black, with gingerbeing fairly common in some areas, very rarely you see a white or pink pig though, so I suppose to answer your question there are a few breeds in them, hope this helps.

 

I hear a lot of talk come out of the US about Russian wild strain.

 

What do they taste like??

[bigboydan 0]

wild boar is fantastic, when camping i would shoot one as quick as possible ,small,under 30kg and bake it on the fire usually wrapped in banana leaves. it would last the whole weekend.

it doesnt taste the same as the"wild boar " you get in the deli or specialist butchers here though. its much tastier.

[Pops 19]

most of the boar in the USA is feral from just as many breeds of pig as you can find in all of europe. british, irish and german breeds dominate american livestock because thats where most of the early colonists and immigrants came from. "pure russian" is mostly found on private hunting preserves. after 20 generations wild it doesn't matter anyway. somewhere between 10-20 generations in the wild under predatory presure they revert back to wild type even producing striped little piglets.

hogs and dogs revert to original wild type fairly quickly. horses take longer. cats, goats and cows never seem to regain their original wild type they just become more athletic and robust versions of the domestic animal. JMO

[dogs-n-natives 1,181]

most of the boar in the USA is feral from just as many breeds of pig as you can find in all of europe. british, irish and german breeds dominate american livestock because thats where most of the early colonists and immigrants came from. "pure russian" is mostly found on private hunting preserves. after 20 generations wild it doesn't matter anyway. somewhere between 10-20 generations in the wild under predatory presure they revert back to wild type even producing striped little piglets.

hogs and dogs revert to original wild type fairly quickly. horses take longer. cats, goats and cows never seem to regain their original wild type they just become more athletic and robust versions of the domestic animal. JMO

Its interesting stuff isnt it, how they can revert back to a wild form so quickly. Strange how different animals evolve quicker than others. Thanks for all the info so far chaps.

 

Any more opinions or experiences anyone?