Noble News And Views

NOBLE RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Wild Pigs Kings of the Pecan Grove

Article by JOSH GASKAMP, Noble Research Institute wildlife and range consultant and technical consultation manager / jagaskamp@noble.org and STEPHEN WEBB, PH.D., Noble Research Institute staff scientist, range and wildlife ecology / slwebb@noble.org

WILD PIG RESEARCH Because of the widespread problems caused by wild pigs, Noble Research Institute continues to study and develop tools to help producers control, manage and mitigate damage from wild pigs. For example, in 2012, Noble research validated a suspended trap system called BoarBuster, a solution for producers to capture entire sounders, including trap-shy animals. Past research also has documented prevalence of diseases impacting livestock producers and reduction of damage on rangeland following wild pig control.

More recently, Noble Research Institute, in collaboration with Oklahoma State University and the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, implemented a study to learn how wild pigs use agricultural landscapes and how damage can affect economic viability. The study was conducted on Noble Research Institute’s Red River Ranch, located in Love County, Oklahoma.

The study had two main objectives: 1) learn how wild pig sounders, groups of related pigs, utilized pecan orchards and surrounding habitats and 2) measure the economic burden inflicted on pecan producers from pig damage in orchards. A planned outcome of this research was to build a tool that would help pecan producers measure economic damages from wild pigs in their operations.

In September of 2016 and 2017, we equipped 29 sows with GPS collars. We

To learn more about how Noble Research Institute supports agricultural producers through research, education and direct consultation, visit www.noble.org.

used BoarBuster traps to capture groups of pigs consisting of breeding-age sows and their offspring. We outfitted two sows from each capture with GPS collars to learn how wild pigs interacted with other members of the sounder. We euthanized the remaining pigs in the capture because state laws restricted release of captured wild pigs if not equipped with tracking collars.

RESEARCH FINDINGS

• Average litter size of pregnant sows euthanized in BoarBuster traps was 5.3 (range from two to nine). • Contrary to a popular belief, wild pigs in this study were not nomadic during autumn and winter. They occupied well-defined home ranges.

• In 2016, from Oct. 14 to Dec. 28, the average home range size of sows was 564 acres (range from 112 to 1,204 acres). • In 2017, from Oct. 13 to Dec. 20, the average home range size of sows was 350 acres (range from 73 to 1,223 acres). • Average sounder home range size (with multiple sows per sounder) was 659 acres. • Wild pigs are excellent swimmers.

In 2016, 11 of the 16 collared pigs crossed the Red River a total of 80 times, with one sow swimming across the river 11 times. • Female wild pigs showed use of riparian vegetation communities and pecan orchards. • Sows also used areas closer to water sources, including streams, rivers and ponds. • Sows also used crop fields, rangeland and forested areas but under a narrow range of conditions.

At the conclusion of each study period, all collared wild pigs and their sounder mates were targeted for collection either using very high frequency (VHF) tracking or recapture with the BoarBuster trap. When using traps to recover collared pigs, recent GPS data from satellite transmissions was instrumental in identifying the best places to trap each sounder.

PIGS AND PECANS

Pecans are native to the southern United States, including Texas. Native groves are commonly found along riparian corridors from the Texas Hill Country east to Louisiana and north to Oklahoma. In 2019, Texas was the third largest pecan producing state, producing nearly 43 million pounds of pecans valued at approximately $70 million dollars.

Recent technologies have created improved pecan varieties and allowed

irrigation in planted orchards. This has allowed producers to plant more acres of pecans outside of their native range, climate, soil and topography.

Noble Research Institute has approximately 370 acres of native and improved pecans on its Red River Ranch. These orchards are managed for profit alongside a beef cattle enterprise. We also have populations of wild pigs on the ranch. This set us up nicely to collect data on wild pig impacts to the pecan enterprise. Kelly Boyer, master’s of science candidate at Oklahoma State University, used transects in native and improved pecan orchards to quantify rooting damage by pigs and pecan loss due to harvest inefficiency.

We found that 10 percent of pecans were not harvested because of pecan harvester inefficiency. Orchard floors with wild pig damage allowed pecans to fall in or near rooting, wallowing or trampling and to escape harvest with specialty equipment. In areas damaged by pigs, 33.7 percent of pecans could not be harvested, bringing the total non-harvestable loss to 43.7 percent in areas damaged by pigs.

PECAN LOSS CALCULATOR

From these findings, the Pecan Loss Calculator was developed to estimate the number of pounds and dollars lost as a result of pecan harvester inefficiency and wild pig rooting damage. This calculator can calculate estimates for both forms of loss in either native groves or improved/ planted orchards.

Long-term averages for production (pounds per acre) and price per pound are prepopulated and specific to native or improved varieties. The user can overwrite these values by entering current and site-specific production and pricing.

Here’s an example of how quickly these losses can add up. Let’s consider 250 acres of native pecans and 250 acres of planted orchards with 5 percent of each area being damaged by wild pigs. Accepting the long-term average production and price per pound, total baseline loss because of pecan harvester inefficiency would be $90,557 and the loss due to wild pigs would be $15,259. The total loss would equal $105,816.

Find the Pecan Loss Calculator at www.noble.org/pecan-loss-calculator.

WHERE’S MY PECAN PIE?

A pecan orchard is not only a valuable commodity to producers but home to abundant native wildlife such as whitetailed deer and wild turkey when wild pigs aren’t overly abundant. We know that wild pigs are especially attracted to pecan orchards, and they certainly place their mark on the territory. We also know wild pigs eat pecans, acorns and a variety of other hard and soft mast. These resources all offer opportunity for the wild pig to compete with native species.

Wild pigs are as fond of pecans as we are for our Thanksgiving pecan pie, but are you sure you want them eating tradition?

RENEW TODAY to receive your NEW Membership Decal!

Texas Wildlife Association 6644 FM 1102 New Braunfels, TX 78132 www.texas-wildlife.org (210) 826-2904 FAX (210) 826-4933 (800) 839-9453 (TEX-WILD)