A Pest in the Park

The Smokies have a pest.  This pest roots around on the ground destroying the mast crop, breeds year round and is a non-native species.  This pest if the European Wild Hog.  Now, though this animal is a pest it is also true that you have probably not seen one in the park.  You may have seen evidence of their passing, you may have seen evidence of their feeding but the likelihood of seeing one is slim to none.  The European Wild Hog is one of the few animals that is trapped and killed in the park; they are not relocated like other pest animals due to concerns over disease.  The Park Service has been trying to reclaim the Park from these animals since the late 50s and though they have removed 500 this year so far they are still fighting this pest.

The European Wild Hog was introduced to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in the early 1900s by accident.  In 1912 a group of these hogs were brought to Murphy, North Carolina to a game preserve.  In 1920 approximately 100 of these animals escaped.  These escapees entered what is now the National Park around Calderwood roughly 20 years later.  During their time being in the wild they breed with domestic pigs.  The descendants of these former game preserve residents have continued to breed.  From their entrance around Calderwood in the 40s, they have now spread to every elevation and ever part of the Park.  They are feral and though they have bred with domestic pigs they are still very wild animals.

The effect of these hogs is ecological in nature.  The wild hog has no natural predator in the park.  Bobcats and Black Bear do reduce the number of young that make it to maturity but they do not reduce that number enough to keep the effect of the hog to a minimum.  The hogs in the park eat the same types of food as other mammals in the park.  They eat the mast crop that deer and bear depend on.  The problem is that the hog can breed year round so their population grows disproportionately to other mammals in the park.  The rooting for grubs, roots and other parts of their diet help some plants but hurt others.  They kill and eat salamanders and because the defecate in the water they are adversely effecting the ecosystem.  To this end, because they are a non-naïve species, they have been hunted and trapped since 1959.

Since 1959, more than 12,000 hogs have been removed from the National park.  This year alone 500 have been removed already.  During a typical season around 250 hogs will be hunted or trapped.  Even with these numbers being removed each year the population in the park is estimated at better than 1200.  Most of the hogs that are harvested each year come from the North Carolina side of the park but they are still seen on the Tennessee side.  So, when you are in the park, keep an eye out around the base of the trees.  If you see the ground has been rooted up, look for tracks.  You might be in the presence of the pest of the Smokies. 

7-10-09