Attacks and Close Calls with Feral Hogs

FERAL HOGS are increasingly becoming not only a nuisance across Texas, but a deadly threat as evidenced by the recent killing of a woman near Anahuac. In light of this and other reports of harrowing encounters between humans and feral hogs, we thought it would be interesting—and instructive—to ask our subscribers and website readers to share their own stories of attacks and close calls with hogs.

The stories on the following page are personal accounts of hog encounters submitted by Texas Fish & Game readers and fishgame.com users.

Jaw Dropping

Back in 2017, my then-husband Sam and I were hunting on our lease at Sergeant. A 125-pound boar came out, and I took a shot at it. Well, I jumped when I shot, so it hit him just below the jaw and he ran off.

My husband stepped out of the blind to see where the hog had run to. At that point, the boar charged him. Sam kept running and changing direction, trying to get away from him, but he kept charging!

I was finally able to get a shot and kill him after Sam was clear. It was horrible and could have been worse. Since that day I no longer walk to my blinds, and I carry a pistol in the woods.

Brenda C. Hughes

Shot in the Foot

On December 29, 2001, I was lighting a fire in the Rizzo cane poles. We were burning marsh. When I went back in to light a fire, a wild boar about 300 pounds was in the smoke just feet in front of me. It charged me.

As I stood up to shoot it, I tripped over some dead grass and Rizzo canes. The gun went off, and shot me in the left foot. The bullet went through and hit the hog.

They later killed it and found a part of the bullet that traveled through my foot. I had surgery and was very lucky to still have a foot, or even to be alive. The bullet hit a quarter-inch from the main artery in my foot. I was over an hour boat ride from town and could have bled out.

Don Jose

Mad Mama

This hog may have pretty eyebrows, but it is big enough to cause damage.

I grew up in the backwoods of Newton County. As a child I spent a lot of time playing in the woods. My cousin and I were about 10 and 12 years of age.

We were out in the woods one day and spotted some cute baby pigs. We each picked one up, planning to keep them as pets. The piglets were squealing, of course.

We heard snorting and blowing with the sound of something coming through the brush at us. Within a minute, the sow was rushing toward us. We started running as fast as we could, and as quickly as we ran, the mama was closing in on us.

I prided myself on being able to run fast, but I promise you, pigs are faster. One of us had the good sense the drop her pig. The other followed suit.

Mama took a brief second to nose around on her babies to check them out. I am convinced those brief seconds saved us.

Angelina Primeaux

Harsh Hog Reality

Thanks for sending me your “Wilderness Wednesday” report about the woman being killed by hogs near Anahuac. People need to know that’s reality.

I’ve written several times about growing up in east Texas and spending significant time in the Big Thicket along Beach Creek. My mentor, Uncle Josh Munro told me “There are many things in the woods that can hurt you, Little Jack; but hogs can kill you—and eat you.”

John Jefferson
(Award-winning Outdoor Writer)

 

—story by TF&G READERS

 

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