(ORDO NEWS) — Crossbreeding domestic pigs with wild boars has created a dangerous new species that is ravaging farmers’ fields and killing other animals, according to Canadian scientists and officials.
Animals tolerate low temperatures well and are distinguished by high intelligence, which makes it difficult to fight them.
The northern states of the United States are preparing to repel the invasion of the so-called super pigs from Canada.
This is a hybrid of a domestic pig and a wild boar, which is distinguished by its large size and the ability to survive in cold climates by digging tunnels under the snow.
“They are incredibly smart. When pressure is put on them, for example, they begin to hunt, they become nocturnal, which makes them extremely elusive.
Pigs hide in dense forest cover, hide in wetlands and can be very dangerous if you manage to find them, ”said the scientist.
Ryan Brook clarified that the so-called super pigs appeared thanks to man, when Canadian farmers decided to breed a hybrid of domestic and wild pigs. The result was a large animal weighing more than 300 kg.
The hybrids then escaped from captivity and quickly spread across Canada.
At first, experts did not attach much importance to this, deciding that the animals simply would not survive the Canadian winter with frosts down to -50 ° C.
But later it turned out that huge boars learned to dig caves in the snow up to two meters deep and line their floor with reed stalks for thermal insulation.
Canadian experts track packs of pigs by trapping individual individuals and attaching a GPS transmitter to them in the hope that the pig will find relatives and lead people to them.
But Ryan Brook believes that they are unlikely to be able to completely eradicate this species, since the pigs have become too numerous.
The USDA has long been concerned about the damage that common wild pigs cause to nature and agriculture.
The government estimates that about 6 million wild or feral animals cost the US economy $1.5 billion annually.
Pigs are considered an invasive (appeared from outside and threatening local nature) species, since they were brought to North America in the 16th century.
“We see direct competition for our native species for food.
Pigs are expert predators, killing fawns and devastating nests of turkeys and quails,” said Michael Marlowe, assistant director of the USDA National Wild Pigs Harm Reduction Program.
Wild pigs are also responsible for environmental damage ranging from eating farmers’ crops to destroying trees and polluting water.
Michael Marlow noted that adult boars are capable of injuring or even killing humans.
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