An invasive species of feral Canadian 'super pigs' could spread into the US
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- An invasive species of Canadian wild hogs is threatening to spread into the US.
- According to the AP, the pigs are exceptionally hard to eradicate.
- They're a crossbreed of American and Eurasian hogs — resulting in a sort of "super pig".
Residents of the northern US may soon have to worry more about what was a once-ridiculed concept: warding off feral hogs.
According to the AP, an expanding population of Canadian "super pigs" — a species of wild boar that is exceptionally hard to eradicate, the outlet says — are threatening to spread into states like Montana, North Dakota, and Minnesota.
The pigs are currently roaming around Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, the Canadian provinces directly north of the US. According to the outlet, the boars are typically crossbred, resulting in a hog with the survival skills of a wild Eurasian hog and the size and fertility of domestic pigs — thus becoming a sort of "super pig".
Free-roaming super swine may seem trivial — hence the 2019 "feral hogs" Twitter spectacle — but the species poses a serious problem, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
"Feral swine cause major damage to property, agriculture (crops and livestock), native species and ecosystems, and cultural and historic resources," the USDA's website states.
Ryan Brook, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan, told the AP that this new iteration of pigs is "the most invasive animal on the planet" and "an ecological train wreck." Because of their quick reproduction and survival skills, Brook said that even if 65% of their population was killed each year, it would still increase.
In turn, states bordering Canada are starting to prepare for a potential incursion. Montana, he said, has placed a ban on "raising and transporting" the pigs within the state.
According to the USDA, pigs aren't native to the country and were introduced to the US in the 1500s.
Now, feral hogs have been found in 35 states, and have an estimated population of 6 million, the site states. Southern states see more of the species, but hogs have been spotted in northern states as well. They're sometimes seen in North Dakota, but are "quickly killed off," AP reports.