Domestic pigs can be cute, but invasive wild pigs-also known as feral swine-are another matter entirely. First brought to the U.S. by early European settlers, wild pigs have earned a reputation for being highly destructive creatures in North America. With few natural predators aside from humans, and the highest reproductive potential of any mammal of similar size, two to six million are wreaking havoc in at least 39 states and some Canadian provinces. In Texas alone, they do hundreds of millions of dollars in damages annually. They tear up recreational areas, occasionally even terrorizing tourists in state and national parks, and squeeze out other wildlife. In agricultural fields, wild pigs may eat the crops or indirectly damage them, or the soil, by creating wallows, scent marking, rooting up plants, or destroying fencing and equipment.
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