Feral 'super pigs' weighing up to 600 lbs could be Ontario's next menace

Canada experienced exploding populations of enormous hybrid "super pigs" in 2023, and this invasive scourge could soon wreak havoc on Ontario's natural ecosystems and agricultural industries, and even directly attack humans.

This problematic porcine began when the wild Eurasian boar was introduced to Canada in the 1980s for meat production, where it was interbred with domesticated pigs to create a new species with the strength and cold resistance of boar and the quick reproduction rates of domestic pigs.

Despite the intentions of the pork industry to produce a new money maker, these hybrid "super pigs" are now posing costly threats to the very farmers that they were supposed to help.

Pig-boar hybrids have quickly established populations in western provinces thanks to their adaptations to cold weather — much more resilient to cold than domesticated pigs — and may have already arrived in Ontario.

Super pigs have not officially established themselves in Ontario, however, reports of the animals are quite common in the province. A spokesperson for Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry told the Toronto Star in November that reports numbering in the triple digits come in every year.

These feral pigs can reproduce at an astounding rate, compounding their impacts on local landscapes.

According to Ontario's Invasive Species Awareness Program (OISAP), wild pigs sexually mature at six months old and can have two litters with as many as ten piglets per year. Some sources say they can even have litters as large as a dozen piglets.

That means one pig is capable of rearing 24 pigs within 18 months of being born, which then go on to raise litters of their own in an exponential pig-splosion.

And they're spreading fast. Researchers from the University of Saskatchewan have recorded around 62,000 reports of the animals across the country, tracking their range expanding by a staggering 40,000km² per year.

OISAP says that once established, these pigs — with their voracious appetites and seemingly bottomless stomachs — can destroy native ecosystems, compete with native wildlife for food, and cause catastrophic damage to crops and agriculture.

In the United States, wild hogs are estimated to cost $2.5 billion annually to the agricultural industry through crop damage, livestock predation and damage to equipment. In addition, these pigs can spread diseases like brucellosis, trichinosis, hepatitis, and African Swine Fever.

Feral pigs, in general, are also known to attack humans, including fatal attacks recorded in the United States.

Numerous wild boar sightings have been reported in the Toronto area in recent years, meaning that these animals could already be interbreeding with escaped farm hogs to create new super pig populations.

Pickering wild boars caught with marshmallows and peanut butter sandwiches https://t.co/pjHqNOmcy9 #Pickering #Boar

— blogTO (@blogTO) December 8, 2021

One case in 2021 made headlines across the region, where a group of 14 wild boar (not confirmed to be hybrids) were tracked across Pickering and were eventually apprehended with the help of some irresistible treats, including marshmallows and peanut butter sandwiches.