By: Mark Tyson, M.S.
Scientific research results often reflect what can be thought
of as obvious outcomes for a particular situation. One example of this can be seen in my research
on coyote diets,
which indicated that coyotes consumed food resources in relation to their
general seasonal abundance. When mesquite beans were available they showed up
as the most common food item consumed. Another example of this is reflected in
a study conducted by Ohio DNR Biologist Clint McCoy, who monitored whitetail
buck movements in relation to hunting activities. The study found that the
more a particular stand was hunted the less likely bucks are to pass through
the area in the daytime. As you can see, both of these results are actually
quite common sense, yet they were discerned through scientific processes.
The world of feral hogs is not exempt from this phenomenon;
Wathen et al. (1988) reported that the presence of feral hog sign was the most
important factor in the selection of various baits being evaluated. This study
found that hogs visited a bait site and consumed at least some of the bait 48%
of the time when hog sign was present in the area. Conversely when hog sign was
not present, bait consumption was observed less than 1% of the time. The
authors noted that bait type appeared to be less important than presence of hog
sign, which proved vital for bait consumption to occur (Wathen et al. 1988). A study published 23 years later builds on the importance of hog sign at a bait site. Williams et al. (2011) suggested that placing a bait site near areas the hogs are known to be is "the most important factor when a quick site discovery time is desired". The authors go on to further recommend that land managers should attempt to roughly locate hogs prior to baiting as opposed to assuming the hogs will be attracted to a bait site from a distance based on the presence of bait alone (Williams et al. 2011).
So what exactly is hog sign? County Extension Agent, Dusty
Tittle provides an overview of the various signs related to feral hogs in the video
below. It is very important to go afield and locate these signs
prior to placing bait in an area.
In some cases hog sign may be hard to identify due to habitat conditions, a great way to work around this is to use the bucket method. In the video below, Wildlife Biologist, Dana Johnson explains how the technique works.
Regardless of how you choose to locate feral hog activity, make sure you do before you move forward with any baiting activities. Extension Wildlife and Fisheries Specialist, Dr. Billy Higginbotham once said “You can’t catch what you can’t bait” and to that I add the observation, “if there is no hog sign, pay the potential bait site no mind”.
In some cases hog sign may be hard to identify due to habitat conditions, a great way to work around this is to use the bucket method. In the video below, Wildlife Biologist, Dana Johnson explains how the technique works.
Regardless of how you choose to locate feral hog activity, make sure you do before you move forward with any baiting activities. Extension Wildlife and Fisheries Specialist, Dr. Billy Higginbotham once said “You can’t catch what you can’t bait” and to that I add the observation, “if there is no hog sign, pay the potential bait site no mind”.
The hyper-linked resource document below will provide you with quick access to many of our online feral hog resources including publications, fact sheets and videos.
Resources:
Wathen, G., J. Thomas and J. Farmer. European wild hog bait
enhancement study- Final report,
December 1988.
United States Department of Interior, National Park Service, Southeast Region.
Atlanta, Gerogia.
Williams, B. L., R. W. Holtfreter, S. S. Ditchkoff and J. B. Grand. 2011. Efficiency of time-lapse
intervals and simple baits for camera surveys of wild pigs. Wildlife Society Bulletin 75:655-659.
Williams, B. L., R. W. Holtfreter, S. S. Ditchkoff and J. B. Grand. 2011. Efficiency of time-lapse
intervals and simple baits for camera surveys of wild pigs. Wildlife Society Bulletin 75:655-659.