In the town of Lamont, northeastern Alberta, residents have been warned to guard against a possible wild boar invasion.
Itinerant pigs have been detected within the city limits, prompting the community to send a safety warning.
“Stay calm and move slowly,” the notice says. “Don’t corner or provoke the animal.”
For decades, Alberta has fought a battle against the wild boar, a term that refers to the Eurasian wild boar, but also to hybrids of domestic pigs and Eurasian wild boars, and wild or feral pigs.
Wild boars have been seen in at least 28 municipalities and rural counties.
Recently, the province stepped up eradication efforts with increased surveillance, trapping and cash rewards in exchange for the animals ’ears.
“The Worst Great Invading Mammal”
Recent sightings remind us that elusive animals remain a threat to rural and urban habitats, said Ryan Brook, an associate professor of agriculture at the University of Saskatchewan and director of the Canadian Wild boar research project.
Wild boars are expanding their reach and could soon move from the bush to Alberta cities, Brook said.
“They’re incredibly mobile. They’re very smart. They eat just about anything. They can survive in a wide variety of habitats.
“And that’s exactly what we should expect to see more of in the future.”
Aggressive action will be required to prevent invaders from becoming a permanent element in backyards, city streets and city parks, Brook said. Any community south of the boreal forest border is at risk, he said.
“They are the worst large invasive mammal on the planet.”
In Lamont, residents are on the edge, said Kirk Perrin, the city’s mayor. The province confirms reports of property damage in the area.
“It just shows that an invasive species like this can come in and actually throw a key in your plans, something you may not have planned until it’s on your doorstep,” Perrin said.
In Barrhead, 150 miles northwest of Lamont, residents’ phones were turned on earlier this month with a warning from the city’s crime alert system.
Three wild boars were seen running through the residential streets and the lands of the provincial offices.
It was determined that the pigs were not wild, but recent runaways from agriculture, said Jennifer Pederson, Barrhead City Communications Coordinator.
The wild boars were on their way to the butcher when they were released, he said. Two were destroyed. One remains at large.
Even a single loose pig is baffling, Pederson said. The Alberta boar problem started with runaway farm pigs.
In a statement to CBC News, the province said it is actively capturing, monitoring and closely monitoring the wild boar in several counties.
He said a new rewards program that rewards hunters for killing wild boars will help government officials better track and eradicate feral pigs. No reward has been claimed since the launch of the pilot program on April 1st.
Wild boars can weigh up to 150 pounds. They are protected from the cold by a layer of wool. Highly adaptable, they can travel more than 40 kilometers in one day.
Their ability to survive in almost any climate makes them one of the most prolific invasive species in North America.
A different beast
The vast majority of Alberta wild boars are hybrids.
Brook describes them as “superpigs.”
Wild boars usually live in the forest, emerging to devour crops, polluting water sources by flowing into wetlands and harassing livestock. They carry diseases that can be transmitted to domestic pigs.
Urbanized pig populations in the southern United States and European cities, including Berlin, have proven to be incredibly destructive, Brook said. Animals take root in gardens, devour parterres and parks, wreak havoc on traffic, and attack people and pets.
Edmonton and Saskatoon are likely to be among the first Canadian cities to face urban wild boars, Brook said.
“It’s been almost two years since we’ve been tracking here in Saskatoon with trail cameras in the city, with the idea that it’s not if they arrive, it’s when they arrive.”
“We’re really at a crossroads”
There’s still time to keep wild boars out of Alberta’s cities, he said, but communities need to act quickly, Brook said.
He said the Alberta Rewards Program will not help eradicate efforts and may have the effect of making the animals more elusive and nocturnal. However, he said the increase in surveillance and capture efforts should be effective.
“We’re really at a crossroads,” Brook said. “Are we going to get ahead and start seeing some victories or will this get out of hand and just become impossible?
“Once things are widely established, we just need to acknowledge that eradication is no longer feasible.”