Sul Ross State University

Diets, Demography and Habitat Use of Feral Hogs
in the Davis Mountains, Texas

by Roger "Bo" N. Adkins and Louis A. Harveson

Feral hogs (Sus scrofa) are one of the most pervasive exotics in North America. The distribution and abundance of feral hogs in west Texas appears to be increasing, but little is known about their ecology in the xeric montane habitats of the Southwest.

We initiated a study to evaluate the spatial and demographic characteristics of a feral hog population in the Davis Mountains of Texas. Eighteen (10 M, 8 F) feral hogs were captured, radioed and monitored weekly using aerial telemetry to determine seasonal movements and ranges. Home ranges of adult males and females averaged 14,201.0 and 155.6 km2, respectively.

Feral hogs used a variety of habitats, but showed preference for desert riparian and grassland habitats.

In addition to our radioed sample, we harvested 48 (20 M, 28 F) feral hogs from the region to determine population structure. Sex ratios (M:F) and age structure (J:A) for the population was 1:1.20 and 1:1.28, respectively.

Group size ranged from 1-12 and averaged 5.75 animals/sounder. Although feral hogs occur at relatively low densities (0.86 hogs/km2) in the Davis Mountains, their affinity for desert riparian and grassland habitats and their destructive foraging style (rooting) threatens a variety of biotic and abiotic resources in the Chihuahuan Desert Ecosystem.

Cooperative funding for this project was provided by the Leonard Foundation and Sul Ross State University.