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Feral Swine | Fins, Fur, & Feathers #557

April 7, 2026·27 min·1 clip

A feral-swine female can replace herself 42 times in one year.

1. Natural Resources University’s Fins, Fur, and Feathers #557 examines feral swine, including their six-to-eight-month reproductive maturity and Kansas management. 2. K-State Extension specialists Drew Ricketts and Joe Gerken use field observations from Texas, Kansas, and the Edwards Plateau to explain the species’ impacts. 3. The central management argument is that recreational hunting can expand feral-swine populations, while whole-sounder removal targets every related pig in a group. 4. Feral swine originated from escaped domestic pigs and released European boars, with established U.S. populations emerging in the early 1900s. 5. A female can have up to 12 piglets per litter, produce two litters per year, and theoretically replace herself 42 times in one year. 6. The hosts describe at least 6 million U.S. feral swine across at least 35 states, with the greatest abundance and damage from Kansas southward. 7. Rooting, crop consumption, yard damage, vehicle collisions, livestock predation, and more than 30 diseases create problems for agriculture, wildlife, and people. 8. Ricketts cites more than $2.5 billion in agricultural damage and says populations can double in four months. 9. Kansas occupied 16 counties in 2004 but now has 9, using remotely triggered traps, fermented or treated corn, and aerial gunning. 10. Recommended for wildlife managers, agricultural producers, hunters, and landowners.

As heard by us

A clear, practical look at why recreational hunting cannot keep feral swine populations in check.

Feral swine come through as a practical management problem with a very visible footprint in this PlayNext review. K-State Extension specialists Dr. Drew Ricketts and Dr.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You will hear why feral swine can be everywhere, damaging, and oddly hard to control even when people love hunting them.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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