This little piggy went to market.
This little piggy stayed home.
This little piggy had roast beef.
This little piggy had none.
And this little piggy went wee, wee, wee, all the way home!
*****
Except for the little piggies in Pickering, that is.
Recently it was learned that 14 European wild boars were living large on the lam in the neighbourhood.
Wreaking havoc everywhere they went.
Perhaps even endangering the population.
Well, we couldn’t have that!
Round them up! Euthanize them!
So that was what was done.
I am sad for the little boars.
They know not what they have done.
Found freedom. Enjoyed themselves. Eluded predators. Evaded capture.
Until they didn’t.
For it seems that wild boars are so smart, that a proposal to hunt them was abandoned.
It seems these sounders, these groups of females, mothers, daughters, sisters, grandparents, nieces and aunts, are so intelligent, that if one gets killed, the remaining group will splinter and never return to that place or area where the killing happened.
How smart is that!
They are, after all, smarter than dogs.
The fourth smartest animal in the world, pigs are, only after gorillas, apes, and whales and dolphins.
And so, hunting them is out of the question, as it would only make the matter seemingly worse.
For us humans, that is.
Male boars and pigs are apparently solitary, only joining the group to breed.
They allegedly do much damage to crops and soil and land, as their joy and habit of wallowing spreads far and wide, and can actually create such a crater that farm equipment will become trapped.
Their love of rooting too is perturbing, for it creates holes and craters and damage to crops and land.
Oh, pig.
If only it were all a large truffle forest.
Then you would be hired to do your duty.
You would be cared for and fed and led out into the forest to find those valuable truffles.
On a leash, of course.
I witnessed an aerial video taken in Africa of a wild boar outrunning a cheetah, and veering right and left and utterly confusing the cheetah out of his meal. The pig won that day!
I am on the side of the pigs, of course.
And I haven’t eaten pork in many years.
But I don’t know what the answer is.
I know that in areas where they have escaped and become wild bands, they proliferate very rapidly.
I don’t know if they are a danger to humans, but if cornered and threatened I can imagine they would stand up for themselves, maybe even attack.
I have not personally heard of any wild boar attacks. I believe they are probably too smart for that.
And they wouldn’t attack small pets for food, I am sure, the way foxes and coyotes and even cougars and wolves would, when they find themselves in populated areas.
For now, this rogue sounder in Pickering that made the news headlines is the only one being reported.
Hopefully other sounders have gotten the memo and have gone into hiding.
Because the outcome will not be good for them if they are discovered.
If they destroy too much land, root too many holes, wallow too many mud baths, scare any random hikers.
I hope they are able to enjoy any freedom they have found, however they found it, before they are bacon.