Wild boar sightings prompt swift action from province

Multiple sightings of 14 Eurasian wild boar in rural areas north of Pickering have Ontario’s northern development, natural resources and forestry ministry working quickly to trap and remove them.

“A sounder of wild pigs typically consists of one or several related females and their offspring,” said Erin Koen, a research scientist in the provincial Wildlife Research and Monitoring section. “There appear to be young pigs in the group in the Pickering area, but we can’t yet confirm their ages or relationships. We don’t have any reason to believe at this time that any of these animals were born in the wild.”

Why it matters: Wild pigs are an invasive species that multiply quickly and damage farmland and the environment.

As part of a strategy aimed at avoiding the environmental damage and crop losses suffered in other jurisdictions, the department has developed a collaborative effort to track wild pigs in Ontario and prevent the establishment of feral breeding populations.

One rural property resident south of the 18,000-acre Pickering Lands, which is mostly farmland expropriated 50 years ago for a proposed airport, described a scene “like that moment in the cornfield in (the 1980s movie) E.T.” when her husband ventured behind their barn to look at 200 newly planted garlic bulbs and instead encountered the wild pigs.

He screamed and ran to the house. The pigs grunted and scattered toward farmland to the north. But “if Joe hadn’t been out there, we’re pretty sure we wouldn’t have 200 garlic anymore,” said Mary Delaney. Her photos, uploaded to Twitter later that day, led to a series of retweets and comments.

Delaney was already on the lookout because provincial staff went door-to-door in the area Nov. 6 to alert area residents. Her sighting happened Nov. 8. After alerting officials, she drove north into the Pickering Lands to speak with two farmers she knew were harvesting inside the Transport Canada-owned land.

“I talked to the farmers, I turned around and drove back down the same side road I had just come up. And there (the wild pigs) were,” she said. “I ended up getting lots of pictures and some videos because they didn’t seem at all concerned about me.”

The Ontario government announced earlier this year a phased-in ban on raising Eurasian wild boar in captivity, with a financial compensation program offered through Agricorp. Those wishing to qualify were required to report their inventory of the animals to the government by Oct. 19 and have been told they’ll receive further details after Jan. 14, 2022.

“Targeted financial support will be available for producers of Eurasian wild boars and associated hybrids to help transition out of the production of these animals and into other forms of production,” Koen said. 

In cooperation with the iNaturalist.ca website, the department tracks wild pig sightings across the province. The most recent annual report on invasive wild pig sightings from that initiative, covering late 2020 through early 2021, claims that “most verified wild pig sightings (during that time) were domestic pigs, including pot-bellied pigs.”

Additionally, “most reports . . . were of a single pig; sightings of more than seven pigs were usually escaped domesticated pigs. Since wild pigs usually live in large family groups, this finding indicates that it is less likely that wild pigs are established in the province.”

However, one Eurasian wild boar was “trapped and humanely euthanized” by provincial staff during that time. Koen notes that “in Saskatchewan’s rural municipalities, proximity to Eurasian wild boar farms is one of the strongest predictors of local wild pig distribution. Eurasian wild boar and their hybrids have traits that make them more likely to survive and successfully reproduce outside of captivity.”

It appears the Pickering sounder consists of wild boar, so the ministry acted quickly after receiving the initial Nov. 5 report.

Koen refused to speculate on whether the 14 creatures are escapees from a farm, saying that whole sounder removal is now the goal. That strategy has been successful in other jurisdictions, including New York State, she said.

Delaney isn’t surprised the sightings elicited a quick ministry response. Her family has been involved in environmental causes over the years and she is currently chair of the Land Over Landings organization that advocates for the protection of the natural heritage of the Pickering Lands. 

“So I know about there being an effort to keep wild pigs out of Ontario in general, and out of North America,” she said.

Delaney supports wildlife corridors on the rural landscape but “wild boar fit more into the Asian carp side of things . . . except Asian carp isn’t also going to attack you if you go near them.”

Fourteen is quite a lot to have in one sounder, she believes. And when she saw and captured video of two of the sounder’s males fighting, “tusks and all,” she recognized it as a sign of sexual maturity. “Which means, I’m pretty sure from watching all my David Attenborough shows, that they’re going to want to separate and start their own group.”

Delaney also worries about what wild pigs might do to the ecosystem in the 10,200 acres of the original 18,600 acres of federal lands that are now protected as the Rouge River National Urban Park.

Koen is confident the Pickering area sounder will be captured and killed.

“Our staff have set up baited trail cameras in the Pickering area, in spots that are being used by the group of wild pigs,” she said. “Once the group is coming to the bait, the entire group will be trapped and euthanized.”

In conjunction with the province’s ban on raising Eurasian wild boar is a ban on hunting wild pigs effective Jan. 1, 2022. That’s because in other jurisdictions, opening hunting inadvertently caused increases in wild pig populations. 

Instead of grabbing a gun, Koen encourages anyone who sees pigs on the loose to grab their smartphone and report the sighting by emailing [email protected] or calling 1-833-933-2355.

For now, despite the Pickering sightings, “evidence does not suggest that wild pigs are invading from neighboring jurisdictions at this time, nor does it indicate the presence of breeding, self-sustaining wild pigs in mainland Ontario.”