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Common name: Feral pig
Scientific name: Sus scrofa

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Location area is in the swamp area of north and west of Lake Okeechobee Florida and currently have been expanding throughout Florida. Feral pigs can adaptable easily through different type of temperatures, elevations, and vegetation types. Feral pigs are also damaging the plants and becoming very wild to the Florida Community.

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The feral pig originated from Eurasia. They are mostly found in Europe or Asia. Their natural habitats include grassy areas, wooded forests, swamplands, and more. They Iive in areas with vegetive cover to protect them from predators. The feral pigs diet includes fruits, nuts, roots, plants, insects, worms, and more. They are considered omnivores but their diet mostly contains vegetation. Because of this, they mostly compete with herbivores for food. Their biggest competition is deer.

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Some ways we can control the number of feral pigs are by killing them and eating them, putting them into farms, and hunting them in the wild.

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Their main predators are wolves. Depending on the habitat, it can also be tigers or Komodo dragons. Their prey consists of mussels, lizards, frogs, turtles, and more. The feral pig has negative effects on the ecosystem. This is due to their trampling, wallowing, and feeding behaviors. A limiting factor for the Feral pig would be access to water. They are poor thermoregulators so its harder to maintain body temperatures.

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Feral pigs were introduced to Florida in 1539 by a Spanish named Hernando DeSoto because Feral pigs aren’t native to Florida.

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3 Effect Feral Pigs do to the Ecosystem and Community 

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3 Effect Feral Pigs do to the Ecosystem and Community 

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~Feral pigs spread disease and parasites
~Feral pigs compete with wild life for food source
~Feral pigs can change the environment by “altering water quality and run off in wetlands.”

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By killing the pigs we can use them for food, we will also be controlling the amount of them in one place because they will be killed off. You could use this method when there is an overpopulation of the pigs.

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Another way to control the number of Feral Pigs are by putting them into farms. By putting them into farms they can stay alive and not be killed off and used for food, instead they could be used as farm animals and can grow. And once they start to get big they could be killed off and used as food.

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The last way we can control the number of the feral pigs are by hunting the wild feral pigs. This is another way to kill off the pigs but in a way that isn’t seen as illegal, a lot of people hunt so they could hunt the pigs in a population that is overpopulated with the feral pigs.

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My group feels that the best solution would be to put them into farms. We chose this reason because killing off every pig would not benefit the ecosystem and instead we can put them in farms and eventually kill them off for food or more. This would adress the problem because they would be less overpopulated and they wouldn’t have a negative effect on the ecosystem. To put this solution into action, we would need a farm and cooperation from farm owners. We can measure the success of this solution by seeing how the environment and ecosystem changed before and after putting the feral pigs in farms

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“Feral Swine: Managing an Invasive Species: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.” Feral Swine: Managing an Invasive Species | Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, www.aphis.usda.gov/operational-wildlife-activities/feral-swine. Accessed 16 May 2024.

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“Wild Boar, Facts and Information.” Animals, www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/wild-boar. Accessed 16 May 2024.

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“Feral Hog Ecology.” Coping with Feral Hogs, 4 Mar. 2022, feralhogs.tamu.edu/feral-hog-ecology/#:~:text=Feral%20hogs%20are%20an%20invasive,the%20areas%20where%20they%20occur.

Feral Swine: Impacts on Threatened and Endangered ..., www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/fsc-feral-swine-impacts-tes.pdf. Accessed 16 May 2024.

“Wild Hog.” Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission, myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/mammals/land/wild-hog/#:~:text=The%20wild%20hog%20(Sus%20scrofa,DeSoto%20as%20early%20as%201539. Accessed 16 May 2024.