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In the 1980s, Canadian farmers were able to import wild boars from Europe and during the early 1990s, they decided to raise meat as a business for their countrymen and their families.
Although some of the wild boars were able to escape and some were freed by the Canadian farmers themselves due to the decreasing sales and trade in the meat market, no one in the country expected that these wild boars will turn out to be wild animals. Also, to take note, they did not expect the boars to survive Canada's winters since it's one of the most brutal weather in the whole world.
The "super pigs"
In one of National Geographic's features, the Canadian farmers were entirely at fault for letting the boars go out in the wild without knowing that their species have come to a very strong descendant of pigs in Europe. They were in the wild before they were bred as domestic pigs. Now, Canadian people, specifically the farmers, are having a hard time handling these wild boars because they are now destroying environmental havoc on Canada's grasslands, farms, and wildlife.
If you think of it in a more serious tone, wild boars are not that big of a problem and are considered to be a minor problem in the country. However, with its physical features and its capability to destroy things, these wild boars can weigh up to 600 pounds and can develop very deadly and sharp tusks.
These traits have been inherited from their descendants as wild boars in Europe and its domestic traits that were instilled by the Canadian farmers. The traits also gave the wild boars the high tolerance against Canada's extremely cold weather and the ability for them to produce bigger hogs compared to the ones in the past years.
They are also smart boars and are capable of building their own shelters and place them above the ground. According to experts, they call these boar-made shelters as "pigloos," because just like igloos, it helps the boars protect themselves from the unruly, cold Canadian weather.
According to Ryan Brook who is a wildlife researcher at the University of Saskatchewan, he has labeled these wild creatures as "super pigs" because of their ability to survive in the wilderness and in the woods.
Brook also stated that people should take the problem that the wild boars bring, such as their evolving wreckless behavior, because experts know how the biology works if these boars are let out in the wild and grow as wild pigs. As of now, they are considered to be a part of an ecological train wreck if they are left just like that.
Where the boars originated
Before the Canadians were able to migrate the boars in Canada, it is believed that the descendants of these wild boars are from British Columbia and Manitoba. Way back in the day, if they are not wrecking nearby farms, these wild boars are usually just eating whatever there is around and that are reachable by their tusks. They also reproduce fast which is also alarming for experts and farmers.
According to a doctoral candidate at the University of Saskatchewan Ruth Aschim, the people don't even know where these boars are residing, which is a huge problem when it comes to tracking and controlling them.
Aschim is Brook's adviser and the two have spent three years trying to figure out where these boars are located and been tracking them using GPS collars and trail cameras. They have also been interviewing some farmers and boar hunters.
