Wild hogs, also known as feral hogs or wild pigs, have a significant and widespread presence across Texas. These adaptable animals pose substantial challenges to the state’s agriculture, environment, and public health. Their prolific breeding and destructive foraging behaviors contribute to a complex problem that requires ongoing management.
Estimating the Population
Counting wild hogs in Texas presents a considerable challenge due to their elusive nature, rapid reproductive cycles, and vast distribution across nearly all 254 counties. Official estimates from 2016 indicated a population of approximately 2.6 million wild hogs in Texas, making it home to nearly half of the United States’ total wild pig population. More recent figures suggest the population remains over 2 million.
Methodologies for estimating these populations involve a combination of approaches. Researchers use data from aerial surveys, which provide insights into distribution and density. Information gathered from trapping efforts and landowner reports also contributes to these estimations. Despite these methods, the secretive habits of wild hogs and their ability to quickly rebound mean that population figures are dynamic.
Reasons for Proliferation
Several biological and environmental factors have allowed wild hog populations to thrive and expand across Texas. Their reproductive capacity is notably high, exceeding that of any other ungulate. Female wild hogs can reach sexual maturity as early as three months of age. A single sow can produce an average of four to six young per litter, sometimes up to twelve, and can have multiple litters annually. With a gestation period of approximately 115 days, a sow can potentially breed again within a week of weaning her young. This rapid breeding cycle contributes significantly to their population growth, which can be as high as 18-21% annually.
Wild hogs also exhibit remarkable adaptability, flourishing in diverse Texas habitats, from dense pine forests to arid brush country. They are omnivores with a generalist diet, consuming a wide variety of plant and animal matter, enabling them to find food sources in almost any environment. The absence of significant natural predators in Texas contributes to their population growth. While coyotes, bobcats, alligators, mountain lions, and black bears may opportunistically prey on immature hogs, humans remain the most substantial predator. Historically, their presence in Texas originated from Spanish explorers introducing domestic pigs in the 1500s, followed by the release of Eurasian wild boars for sport hunting in the 1900s, leading to extensive cross-breeding and establishment of the current wild populations.
Far-Reaching Consequences
The extensive presence of wild hogs in Texas results in widespread negative impacts across various sectors. Their destructive rooting and foraging behaviors cause significant agricultural damage. Annual losses to agriculture were estimated at $118.8 million in studies from 2016 and 2019, with more recent data from 2025 indicating damages totaling $871 million in Texas, contributing to over $1.6 billion nationally. This damage includes direct consumption of crops like corn, peanuts, sorghum, rice, and wheat, as well as trampling of standing crops and destruction of hay fields, orchards, and farming equipment. Rooting also degrades pastures, making them less suitable for livestock grazing and facilitating weed encroachment.
Beyond agriculture, wild hogs cause considerable environmental degradation. Their rooting behavior disturbs soil, damages native vegetation, and leads to erosion, increasing runoff and sedimentation in waterways. Wallowing in wetlands and bayous can contaminate water sources by increasing bacteria levels and altering water chemistry, creating unfavorable conditions for native aquatic life. Wild hogs also compete with native wildlife for food resources, such as acorns and other mast, and may prey on vulnerable species like fawns, young lambs, and the eggs of ground-nesting birds. Additionally, these animals pose potential health risks, carrying over 30 bacterial, fungal, and viral diseases, and nearly 40 parasites that can be transmitted to humans, livestock, and other wildlife. Diseases like brucellosis and pseudorabies are particularly concerning for the livestock industry, and brucellosis can infect humans through direct contact with infected fluids or consumption of undercooked meat.
Control and Management Strategies
Managing wild hog populations in Texas involves a multi-faceted approach, combining both lethal and non-lethal methods. Recreational hunting is a common lethal method, permitted year-round with no bag limits on private property, though a hunting license is typically required unless the landowner or their agent is addressing damage. Trapping is often considered the most common and effective method for landowners, allowing for the capture of multiple animals at once, especially when using large corral traps. Aerial gunning, involving shooting from helicopters, is another highly effective lethal strategy for removing large numbers of hogs, especially in areas with open terrain. This method requires a permit from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and has been shown to remove a significant percentage of a localized population in a short period.
While less common for large-scale population control, non-lethal strategies like exclusion fencing can protect specific areas, such as crops or gardens, from hog damage. Despite these varied efforts, effective management remains a continuous challenge due to the hogs’ high reproductive rate, intelligence, and adaptability. Population models suggest that a continuous annual reduction of 66-70% is necessary to stabilize the population, yet current control methods achieve only about a 29% reduction. Managing wild hog populations is an ongoing effort aimed at control rather than complete eradication.