For most of us, going fishing is a rather relaxing hobby… running for your life isn’t part of the game plan.
But when you’re in Florida… anything is possible. Bank fishing in the swamps of Florida is a whole different beast compared to your average fishery. Gators, panthers, pythons black bears and even wild boars can be lurking in those woods.
This guy was more than prepared though. Hell, he was prepared for just about anything…
Wild Hog Problem
If you think the biggest threat to the American landscape is urban sprawl, you haven’t met the feral hog. These 200-pound, four-legged dirt devils are arguably the most destructive invasive species in the United States, and they are tearing up the countryside at an absolutely terrifying pace.
What started as domestic pigs escaping farms (and some Eurasian boars introduced for hunting centuries ago) has turned into an all-out ecological disaster. Wildlife biologists and/or your local fish and game folks will literally say you cannot shoot them fast enough. Feral hogs are prolific breeders and there are three reasons why… how long, how much and how fast.
A sow’s gestation period is roughly 3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days… pretty quick compared to most mammals, but where they really get you is in the numbers. A healthy female can easily drop two litters a year, usually with 6 to 10 piglets per litter (though sometimes up to a dozen). And those little piglets hit sexual maturity and can start cranking out their own litters by the time they are just 6 to 8 months old.
Because of this insane breeding cycle, experts estimate that you have to eradicate around 70% of a local hog population every single year just to keep the numbers exactly where they are. And for most parts of the country, it’s been damn near impossible to do so
The Damage
Wild boars do over $1.5 billion in damage across the United States every single year. They aren’t just eating a little grass; they are ecological bulldozers. They use their snouts to dig for grubs, roots, and tubers, completely flipping the soil and destroying entire fields of crops overnight. And because they are opportunistic omnivores, they’ll devour nesting birds like turkey and quail, reptile eggs, and even newborn deer fawns.
They carry a nasty cocktail of diseases like swine brucellosis and pseudorabies, which can jump to domestic livestock and completely wipe out a farmer’s livelihood. And if that wasn’t bad enough, they’re actually pretty dangerous to humans, livestock and pets. They’re strong, aggressive, and their tusks come in about thigh level and tear upwards when they charge you… wild boars have the potential to injure, maim or sometimes even kill people.
Florida’s Feral Hog Nightmare
While Texas takes the crown for having the most feral hogs in the country, Florida is a very strong, chaotic second place. There are estimated to be over half a million wild pigs roaming the Sunshine State, and they are in all 67 counties.
Florida’s climate is fantastic for wild pigs. They don’t have to worry about freezing winters killing off piglets, and the state’s massive swamps and thick palmetto brush give them endless places to hide.
But it’s not just a rural hunting problem anymore. In Florida, the hogs have become completely brazen, pushing right into the suburbs. They are notorious for rolling through gated communities in the middle of the night to absolutely shred pristine golf courses and manicured lawns looking for grubs. Because the problem is so severe, the state of Florida essentially has zero hunting regulations for hogs on private land. No closed season, no size limit, and no bag limit. If you see one on your property, the state wants you to drop it on sight.
This guy, who was just looking to do some bank fishing in Florida, got more than he bargained for when he was making his way through the woods to the water’s edge. He notices something barreling through the brush, and when he realizes it’s a boar, he backs off. He already knows what it about to happen, but he’s prepared…
“Don’t do it..”
But he does. The boar comes for him, and the man quickly pulls out a firearm and cracks a shot off at him. The boar peels off and runs the other direction, perhaps wounded. Even if you just plan on fishing, between the gators and the panthers, and I guess the wild hogs… it seems like having a firearm in the Florida wilderness is a smart move.
Head on a swivel out there, folks.
