The Biggest Threat to the Planet

___________ are taking over the planet.  "The issue is as serious as swine flu, with a global explosion of ______ destroying natural ecosystems, spreading disease, causing a billion dollars in agricultural damage, and proving themselves nearly impossible to combat.  We have a really, really big problem here, and we don’t have the answers. We’re in for a fight.”

What is it?  Wild Pigs.



They reproduce rapidly (females breed twice a year with litters of six to eight piglets).  The only wild animals that will kill them are bears, mountain lions, wolves and maybe coyotes or alligators.  They will eat anything and destroy their ecosystem by digging up acorns and roots.  They destroy billions of dollars worth of agriculture each year.

They are difficult to hunt because they are smart and know how to hide from humans.  They have thick hides and skulls that are difficult to pierce.

"In as little as 10 years, if wild pigs continue their exponential growth pattern, Strickland sees the potential for catastrophe on a grand scale. His best-case scenario would be holding populations at current levels. And even this goal requires eliminating 50 to 60 percent of existing wild pigs annually, from now until forever."

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"Rod Pinkston’s military career taught him to thoroughly observe and study an enemy before attacking.

“You start by collecting intel,” the retired Army sharpshooter said. “You identify the size of the group, and you pattern them.The same approach he used against foreign militants is now a business model for battling a destructive enemy at home: feral hogs."

http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/metro/2012-08-05/feral-hog-control-sometimes-warrants-military-solution

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Wait.  It gets worse.  In Europe, many wild boars are radioactive because they like eating mushrooms and truffles that contain radioactive cesium.   "As Germany's wild boar population has skyrocketed in recent years, so too has the number of animals contaminated by radioactivity left over from the Chernobyl meltdown," which took place almost 25 years ago.  Apparently, mushrooms and truffles, which the hogs like to eat, are "particularly efficient at absorbing radioactivity."

--http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/08/04/128975828/nearly-25-years-after-chernobyl-disaster-germany-beset-by-radioactive-boars

See also: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20014108-503543.html

http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/a-quarter-century-after-chernobyl-radioactive-boar-on-the-rise-in-germany-a-709345.html

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A single herd, or "sounder", can wreck a corn crop or leave a meadow looking like a moonscape. They like to wallow in cool water and have fouled fishing rivers and swimming holes in dozens of states since an explosion in their numbers over the past 20 years.

The hogs, descendants of colonial-era livestock and, more recently, European wild boars introduced for sport, spread diseases such as brucellosis, can breed twice a year and, when hungry enough, will eat lambs. On the upside, being clever and lean, they make for good hunting and--when cooked with skill--they are tasty.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/americans-are-hunting-wild-pigs-now-2013-5