Feral pigs are becoming a big problem in my favorite hiking/camping spot. I ran into a herd of nine pigs ranging from tiny babies all the way up to a 100-pounder last Saturday. My response was to wave my hiking stick over my head and roar like a monster. It seemed to work this time, but is there a better/safer way of dealing with pigs?

Sidenote: I have several effective firearms, unfortunately they aren't allowed where I'm hiking.

Thanks,
Blast

If you can't carry a gun, I hope you don't run into a boar with mischief in mind...they can be REALLY mean... at least carry a HEAVY staff with a good heavy spike end.

Troy

You want more than just a point, or it will charge right up the shaft. Boar spears have cross bars for a reason.

I know OC works on bears and dogs, how about pigs?

They are not allowed where I hike either. But I still carry one. It only would come out if my life were in danger and I would deal with the repercussions from there.

A week or so ago, watched National Geographic channel's Explorer program, this one about Hogzilla, previously thought to be a fraud, or more politely, an urban myth.

Guy in Georgia shoots wild hog, claims it was 12-ft. and 1000 lbs. Said buried it after killing, but not before taking pictures. Most thought it was doctored photo.

NatlGeo devoted this program to it; dug it up; measured, weighed; performed DNA tests. Upshot: Hogzilla was the real deal, though not as large as claimed (allowed as how maybe the photo was slightly Photoshop'd), it was estimated to have been ~8-ft. and 800-lbs. Abnormally large by any wild hog-standard.

Program pointed out, pigs are smartest domestic animal, and they're mean. When they escape into the wild, they are unique among domesticated animals – in a matter of weeks, they start to physically change, e.g. hair gets longer and coarser, and their disposition changes.

Here's NatlGeo's blog on the show.

I don't think the picture was photoshopped, It's an optical illusion. Film makers use it all the time, it's called "forced persective". In a current TV commeicial, the spokesman appears to standing by an enormous gas can. He walks toward the camera and we see that the can is normal sized. The same holds ture for the hogzilla pic. Notice how the hog is suspended closer to the camera and the person is standing in a hole farther away. That all works to make the hog look bigger than it actually was. (It still was a monster hog!)

I think the rest of the exaggeration can be attributed to the excitement of the moment.