Feral hogs in Indiana

[hawkencougar2]

Are there any nuisance feral hot populations in Indiana? We thought we were safe in Illinois but it seems like we have a couple spots were they got started.

 

[No2rdame]

I've seen a few of them hanging around the Purdue cafeteria, but other than that I know nothing of feral hogs in Indiana.

 

[Adrian8]

In the S.W. corner of Jackson County there are feral hogs.

 

[half-glocked]

I've seen a few of them hanging around the Purdue cafeteria, but other than that I know nothing of feral hogs in Indiana.

Now, now, just because we make the IU cheerleaders pass a simple quiz before we let them take a seat in our cafeteria is no reason to go around calling them names.

We gave it our best shot, questions like, "What does the "I" in "IU" stand for?"

The poor dears did try their hardest.

 

[redlegrod]

In the S.W. corner of Jackson County there are feral hogs.

Is there any public land you can hunt them on?

 

[teddy12b]

Feral Hogs in Indiana are a myth. You might as well tell yourself they don't exist. Every now and again somebody will get on INGO and talk about what a huge problem they are in some other part of the state and when people question them or try to investigate where to hunt these wild beasts they find out that nobody actually knows exactly where or who the farmer is that's having feral hog problems.

If you want to make feral hogs disappear then ask where to go hunt them. Nobody will know a specific piece of public land that they have personally take a hog from and nobody would be able to tell you a private land owner who'd be willing to let you come hunt on his/her land for them.

I wish what I'd written above wasn't true and I'd love to be proven wrong, but things are what they are.

 

[AGarbers]

Feral Hogs in Indiana are a myth. You might as well tell yourself they don't exist. Every now and again somebody will get on INGO and talk about what a huge problem they are in some other part of the state and when people question them or try to investigate where to hunt these wild beasts they find out that nobody actually knows exactly where or who the farmer is that's having feral hog problems.

If you want to make feral hogs disappear then ask where to go hunt them. Nobody will know a specific piece of public land that they have personally take a hog from and nobody would be able to tell you a private land owner who'd be willing to let you come hunt on his/her land for them.

I wish what I'd written above wasn't true and I'd love to be proven wrong, but things are what they are.

Totally wrong. There are feral hogs in Indiana. The hills west of Brownstown have hundreds if not more. The state has an estimated 1000-5000 hogs running loose everywhere from north of Richmond to around Evansville. The problem is the vast majority of them are on private land and those folks don't want ten thousand hunters running through their woods. The hogs also love to live in the thickest,nastiest, most tendon tearing and bone snapping terrain known to Hoosiers. I personally have hunted them. While I have not yet shot one, I have been in hot pursuit. I have photographed their wallows, their tracks, their rubs, and even their dead babies. The fellow I hunt with has killed about a hundred over the past seven years.

I guess you didn't attend the feral hog seminar in Medora last November where the IDNR and USFWS talked about this growing threat.

If you want more info go to Indiana Hunting - Indiana Fishing | IndianaSportsman.com

 

[teddy12b]

Totally wrong. There are feral hogs in Indiana. The hills west of Brownstown have hundreds if not more. The state has an estimated 1000-5000 hogs running loose everywhere from north of Richmond to around Evansville. The problem is the vast majority of them are on private land and those folks don't want ten thousand hunters running through their woods. The hogs also love to live in the thickest,nastiest, most tendon tearing and bone snapping terrain known to Hoosiers. I personally have hunted them. While I have not yet shot one, I have been in hot pursuit. I have photographed their wallows, their tracks, their rubs, and even their dead babies. The fellow I hunt with has killed about a hundred over the past seven years.
;
I guess you didn't attend the feral hog seminar in Medora last November where the IDNR and USFWS talked about this growing threat.

If you want more info go to Indiana Hunting - Indiana Fishing | IndianaSportsman.com

I have heard of the feral hog problem but everytime I inquire about hunting them it seems like the problem majically disappears. If your buddy has shot some that's great and if you're getting close to getting one yourself then Im genuinely happy for you and more than a little jealous.

 

[jordanh34]

Has any persons found the hogs in state parks in any part of the state?

 

[Kirk Freeman]

IDNR had a seminar on feral hogs in Indiana???

I did not know that. Thanks for the lesson!

 

[AGarbers]

There are no wild hogs in any state parks that I know of. I don't know of any on state land yet either.
The seminar was held by Chuck Brenner, a friend and the most well versed person on Indiana hog hunting I know. The indr and usfws people were guest speakers.

 

[B6240]

I have heard from some people that have seen them. I have not personally had any encounters. They are a doubled edge sword don't want them here destroying everything but they would be fun to hunt and good to eat.

 

[Adrian8]

Is there any public land you can hunt them on?

If you get a platt book and do your homework, knock on doors with just yourself, or one guy, you might get permission. But farmers do not want a bunch of yahoos on their property.

 

[Jason R. Bruce]

I hunt coyotes extremely hard on vast portions of land that frequently come up in these discussions about feral hogs. I've never seen any legitimate evidence of hogs with my own eyes. The only direct contact I've had with a person that claims to have laid eyes/hands on a feral hog in Indiana is a CO.

The above statement is not intended to claim there are no hogs in Indiana but rather to put things in perspective. I organize events for hundreds of hunters, have permission from several hundred landowners, and regularly visit with over a dozen CO's. I hunt, scout and attain permission all year long, ranging from 150-300 days a year depending on workload and weather. I would think I'm considerably more likely to stumble across a hog or hog-witness than the average guy, yet, just one.

As teddy12b said, the only recurring theme I've found in Indiana's wild hogs is found online. Guys wanting to go hunt them, guys looking for property infested with them and so forth. I won't say they're a myth, they are here, just like a limited number of loose horses, cattle and mountain lions (all of which I've tracked/photographed or spotted while afield).

I did a series of interviews with USA Today last year about the growing populations of predators and nuisance wildlife. Everything from coyotes to wolves to hogs were covered, they had biologists and random experts involved in the construction of this material. I don't have all the research in front of me but I recall being BLOWN AWAY by the rate feral hogs reproduce. I believe a female will breed when 6-8 months old, and every 6 months afterwards, having 4-15 piglets in each liter. Think about the way those numbers stack up. 50 turn into 50,000 real quick.

I would think Indiana is very suitable habitat for feral hog growth. Just about anywhere in the country, Corn + Water = Coons. Hogs are much more prolific breeders than coon and we have the key ingredients here, perhaps only lacking seclusion. If seclusion was the lacking ingredient keeping feral hog numbers from exploding in Indiana, it would be due to roadkills and massive hunting harvests. Neither of those seem to be the case, so why aren't they skyrocketing as they have everywhere else?

Again, I've never seen a million dollars but I know it's out there. There are feral hogs in Indiana but I bet there are 100 forum posts about them for each one that actually exists.

 

[KellyinAvon]

In the S.W. corner of Jackson County there are feral hogs.

I'm originally from just south of east fork White River in NE Washington County. There was some crazy guy with russian boars (and russian sows I'd assume) who was losing his property in a Sherrif's auction. He turned them loose. One year during a dry summer they got across White River into Washington County.

 

[VN Vet]

Try the Stripper Pits in Warrick County. Plus get a listing of Farmers from the Warrick County Co-op and give some farmers a call to see what they say. The Farmers may love to have you hunt and kill them.

 

[Jason R. Bruce]

I'm originally from just south of east fork White River in NE Washington County. There was some crazy guy with russian boars (and russian sows I'd assume) who was losing his property in a Sherrif's auction. He turned them loose. One year during a dry summer they got across White River into Washington County.

He was just outside Tunnelton and I believe that was over 10 years ago, had over 30 head. Hogs swim deep canals in Florida daily so I doubt they had to wait for a dry summer to cross. So... why aren't there 25,000 in the region by now? I live 10-15 miles as the crow flies... where are they? I'm genuinely curious.

PS: I believe he logged the property and prevented forclosure.

 

[No2rdame]

Now, now, just because we make the IU cheerleaders pass a simple quiz before we let them take a seat in our cafeteria is no reason to go around calling them names.

We gave it our best shot, questions like, "What does the "I" in "IU" stand for?"

The poor dears did try their hardest.

Did any of them get it right on their second or third attempt?

 

[Bersalover]

Feral Hogs in Indiana are a myth. You might as well tell yourself they don't exist. Every now and again somebody will get on INGO and talk about what a huge problem they are in some other part of the state and when people question them or try to investigate where to hunt these wild beasts they find out that nobody actually knows exactly where or who the farmer is that's having feral hog problems.

If you want to make feral hogs disappear then ask where to go hunt them. Nobody will know a specific piece of public land that they have personally take a hog from and nobody would be able to tell you a private land owner who'd be willing to let you come hunt on his/her land for them.

I wish what I'd written above wasn't true and I'd love to be proven wrong, but things are what they are.

Tell that to the guys in Seymour who are buying the metal cages and trapping them weekly, 2-3-4 at a time. Saw some video of them and my buddy just is going to set out his cage this weekend. They are definately here.

 

[jlwest1213]

I've always wondered about hogs in Indiana, guess i'll have to do some more searching. I always thought if they were anywhere down towards Evansville would be a good area.