Possible Wild Boar Sightning Along I-91 Near White River VT

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grouseking

grouseking

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My friend saw something that looked like a large brownish-black baby pig. She said it kind of looked like this . I know Corbin Park isn't too far away and I'm pretty sure they have Wild Boars there. Is there a chance this could have escaped through the park fences and made its way over to VT? And is it possible that if there is a baby, then there are proabably adults wandering around? Anyone who lives in the area seen one?

grouseking
 
When I had my cabin in S Ohio, a couple wild boar escaped from a local game preserve, Later, they were put down by rangers/hunters. They are big , destructive and dangerous. I urge caution...
 
jjo said:
When I had my cabin in S Ohio, a couple wild boar escaped from a local game preserve, Later, they were put down by rangers/hunters. They are big , destructive and dangerous. I urge caution...
Click to expand...

This is why I brought it to the attention of this site, but I need to stress that I wasn't there and I'm only reporting what I heard from someone who knows next to nothing about pigs (not saying I know anything). So the credibility might be questionable, but I figured it was a strange place to see a strange looking pig, so I figured I'd report it. I also knew that Corbin Park isn't far away, and those things could have easily escaped.

grouseking
 
Corbin Park is in NH and the Connecticut river is quite a river to cross. I live about 3 miles from WRJ myself and know that there are couple of farms between rt 5 and that stretch of 91 that have pigs themselves. I don't want to discount your friend's eyesight, but it could have been a dirty/darker pig escaped from a local farm. He also may be totally correct.

Just another option, but something to be wary of nonetheless. Boar are crotchety beasts and can decimate the understory of a forest in no time whatsoever.
 
Pamola said:
Corbin Park is in NH and the Connecticut river is quite a river to cross. I live about 3 miles from WRJ myself and know that there are couple of farms between rt 5 and that stretch of 91 that have pigs themselves. I don't want to discount your friend's eyesight, but it could have been a dirty/darker pig escaped from a local farm. He also may be totally correct.

Just another option, but something to be wary of nonetheless. Boar are crotchety beasts and can decimate the understory of a forest in no time whatsoever.
Click to expand...


Agreed. My mind goes places with these things a lot. I mean come on, I firmly believe in Sasquatch! :D Its still something to think about because its impossible to think that these animals have NEVER escaped outside the fences. The animal was in such a weird place...the median of I-91 with trees and grass. I wish I was there to see it.

grouseking
 
Pigs

I can't answer your question but I can relate...

I think it is entirelly possible that someone saw a pig in VT. Here is why I think so. When I lived in Centre County for 7 years I came across a "wild" boar in very remote, rocky territory near Warriors Mark, PA. This area is surrounded by 1800-2200' mountains, in the middle of farms (like Waitsfield, VT) with the Penn and Bald Eagle valleys on either side. I have pics that I should scan.

Also, in 1980 when I was a kid in northern, NJ there was a "wild" boar that was shot by a sherriff near High Point. The local story was that it had escaped years ago and lived off the land. It was deemed agressive and started showing up locally so it was put down.

What else could your friend have seen, is what I am wondering......
 
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R.O.U.S.'s ! ;)

Apparently, there are escaped pigs, feral hogs, wild boar and crosses. Like cougar, sightings for the next few years will be attributed to escaped farm animals or pets. But like coyote and turkey, this population is healthy, growing and spreading. I've said here before they will be the next "animal concern du jour". Ask anyone from the south or southwest what they think of these 300 lb Rodents Of Unusual Size.

Edit: This is interesting -
"The first pure "Russian" wild boars were brought into the United States in New Hampshire.
Austin Corbin introduced the first pure Russians in to a 20,000 acre enclosure in Sullivan County, New Hampshire in 1890. Although pure Russians Wild Boar are rare, New Hampshire and Texas are the only two states where they are known to still exist."
 
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About 25 years ago, a wild boar was either seen, or perhaps even shot (it was a long time ago, and the details fad from my memory) in the Hanover, NH, Norwich VT. area ( I suppose boars can cross bridges). At the time, it was suspected that the boar had escaped from Corbin Park. There was a little discussion on this issue a while back:

http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?p=99760

Whether this is another recent escapee, or part of a growing resident population is anybody's guess.
 
Oh, they can swim

While I suspect it is more likely your friend saw an escaped domestic hog, do not for a moment think a wild boar is not capable of swimming across the CT river. While they would rather wallow than swim, they are capable of traveling more than a mile by swimming. In Florida, they commonly swim to offshore keys and cause quite a bit of damage to the ecosystem.

Errol
 
Vermonster said:
While I suspect it is more likely your friend saw an escaped domestic hog, do not for a moment think a wild boar is not capable of swimming across the CT river. While they would rather wallow than swim, they are capable of traveling more than a mile by swimming. In Florida, they commonly swim to offshore keys and cause quite a bit of damage to the ecosystem.

Errol
Click to expand...

I never doubted it. The CT's daunting but definitely not impossible. The river moves quite quickly below the Wilder Dam, adding to its difficultly.

Ever since I saw a herd of deer swimming to an island in Casco bay off Portland in the dead of winter I have never doubted what animals are capable of in water. I question the thought process/instinct though.
 
I have never encounted a wild pig or boar in the US but when I was stationed in Germany I saw many. They should not be taken lightly. I rember being on a patrol and we were taking a break and all of a sudden someone yelled "Boar" and crashing through the woods was this huge boar (easily 400lBs plus) I basically crouched behind a tree when it ent running by 10ft away.

This was the closes I came to one. I had some other encounters but they were either smaller ones or I was on a tracked vehical and they couldn't get to me.
 
The wild boar from Corbin Park (and some other critters) have been escaping for years and have done a great deal of damage to local farmers in the area. My understanding is that, because they are primarily nocturnal and can't be hunted at night, that the population has boomed.

I was watching the National Geographic channel a few weeks ago and they had a special on "Hogzilla", the 1200 lb wild boar (which was shown to be false, although big nonetheless). Something that I didn't realize before is that there is very little distance, evolutionally (is that a word?) speaking between a domestic pig and a wild one and that a domestic pig that escapes will, in a short time, begin to revert back to it's wild ancestors and grow more hair and tusks. :eek:
 
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