Beware the pigs of October
Oct. 5th, 2002 02:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
days_unfoldingThe lab at which I work is in the middle of nowhere. We used to get visits from all sorts of wild creatures. In October, we would get visits from wild pigs. They would come down late at night and dig for food, and the next day, the lawn looked like someone had taken a shovel and dug it up.
If you stayed really late, you'd get to meet them. The one time that I saw them, it was 1 AM, and I ran to my car (the worst thing that you can do). However, the pigs ran in the other direction.
We got to see them because we were always shipping in October and working late. We came up with a "beware the pigs of October" phrase that covered any sort of trouble that can happen when you are shipping a project, not just the pigs.
Then the company built a fence around the parameter of the lab, including a sliding gate at the driveway. No more pigs.
Well, now they're at my condo complex. I haven't seen them, but the lawn in a garden area right outside my condo is ripped up. I better keep my eyes open because my hours make it more likely that I'll run into them than most people.
The local paper wrote a story about the problem that we're having with the pigs:
Wild pigs go to town: Herd making itself at home at S.J. complex
By Pat Lopes Harris
Mercury News
When Dean Tarrant first moved to a condo complex on the edge of San Jose's greenbelt, he liked the idea of being near its bike trails, ponds and wildlife. But he did not count on confronting a monstrous tusked boar lurking in his driveway.
``I rolled up with my truck headlights on and he didn't even bother moving,'' Tarrant said.
State wildlife officials say wild pigs, mountain lions and deer have been moving into human communities near open spaces throughout Santa Clara, San Benito and Monterey counties.
California Maison, a South San Jose condominium complex, has some new guests: a herd of about 30 wild pigs, each the size of a refrigerator turned on its side. The pigs are behaving like pigs, wrecking the landscaping, birthing piglets and scaring the wits out of two-legged guests, including one of Tarrant's poker buddies.
The buddy parked his car and was walking toward Tarrant's home when he crossed paths with a pig. The big porker proceeded to chase him to Tarrant's door.
``I hadn't told any of the guys we were having pig problems,'' Tarrant said.
Although Tarrant -- and his friends -- never expected to have wild pigs hanging around his front door, the problem is not unusual this year, according to the California Department of Fish and Game.
Wildlife population booms coupled with unusually dry conditions have combined to make neighborhoods, with their irrigated lawns, appealing to pigs.
``It's the classic example of population dynamics,'' said Dave Fox, a Fish and Game warden. ``The mountain lions can't keep up with the pigs.''
``More land is being converted to urban areas, big ranches are going out of the business of hunting, and there are more parks that protect them.''
European settlers introduced wild pigs to California in the 18th and early 19th centuries for hunting.
Pigs have spread throughout the state except for deserts, which are too hot and dry for their tastes, said Jeannine DeWald, Fish and Game associate wildlife biologist. They prefer damp shade, where they can keep cool when it is hot. The pigs can weigh up to 400 pounds each, making them bigger than most NFL linemen.
Wild pigs have invaded Bay Area communities at least twice in recent years, but this appears to be the first time they have hit San Jose. Most but not all of the creatures are nonplussed by humans.
``Usually they'll try and avoid you -- they have very poor vision,'' DeWald said. ``But if they get cornered, they'll charge you.''
In South San Jose, the pigs are going straight for the condo complex's soft, sweet green grass. Despite the reputation earned by their domestic brethren, they don't like table scraps.
They love to use their strong snouts to burrow into the dirt, searching for bugs and worms to gobble. That may sound innocent, but the pigs are wreaking havoc at California Maison, where groundskeepers have given up on the lawn.
``It looks like someone has taken a gigantic rototiller to it,'' Tarrant said.
The complex has set traps and caught five pigs, but Tarrant estimates scores of others are too big to nuzzle up to the bait. He hopes Fish and Game will allow friends and neighbors to hunt and eat the animals.
``We're going to have the biggest block party luau that you've ever seen,'' he said.
But officials think that's unlikely. They say it is too dangerous to allow hunting in or near the condo complex. A good fence would be more effective, and nature is likely to take care of the problem.
``When the rain starts again, they'll retreat back to the oak woodlands areas,'' Fox said, ``especially if they get pressured.''
Contact Pat Lopes Harris at pharris@sjmercury.com <mailto:pharris@sjmercury.com> or (408) 278-3471.
If you stayed really late, you'd get to meet them. The one time that I saw them, it was 1 AM, and I ran to my car (the worst thing that you can do). However, the pigs ran in the other direction.
We got to see them because we were always shipping in October and working late. We came up with a "beware the pigs of October" phrase that covered any sort of trouble that can happen when you are shipping a project, not just the pigs.
Then the company built a fence around the parameter of the lab, including a sliding gate at the driveway. No more pigs.
Well, now they're at my condo complex. I haven't seen them, but the lawn in a garden area right outside my condo is ripped up. I better keep my eyes open because my hours make it more likely that I'll run into them than most people.
The local paper wrote a story about the problem that we're having with the pigs:
Wild pigs go to town: Herd making itself at home at S.J. complex
By Pat Lopes Harris
Mercury News
When Dean Tarrant first moved to a condo complex on the edge of San Jose's greenbelt, he liked the idea of being near its bike trails, ponds and wildlife. But he did not count on confronting a monstrous tusked boar lurking in his driveway.
``I rolled up with my truck headlights on and he didn't even bother moving,'' Tarrant said.
State wildlife officials say wild pigs, mountain lions and deer have been moving into human communities near open spaces throughout Santa Clara, San Benito and Monterey counties.
California Maison, a South San Jose condominium complex, has some new guests: a herd of about 30 wild pigs, each the size of a refrigerator turned on its side. The pigs are behaving like pigs, wrecking the landscaping, birthing piglets and scaring the wits out of two-legged guests, including one of Tarrant's poker buddies.
The buddy parked his car and was walking toward Tarrant's home when he crossed paths with a pig. The big porker proceeded to chase him to Tarrant's door.
``I hadn't told any of the guys we were having pig problems,'' Tarrant said.
Although Tarrant -- and his friends -- never expected to have wild pigs hanging around his front door, the problem is not unusual this year, according to the California Department of Fish and Game.
Wildlife population booms coupled with unusually dry conditions have combined to make neighborhoods, with their irrigated lawns, appealing to pigs.
``It's the classic example of population dynamics,'' said Dave Fox, a Fish and Game warden. ``The mountain lions can't keep up with the pigs.''
``More land is being converted to urban areas, big ranches are going out of the business of hunting, and there are more parks that protect them.''
European settlers introduced wild pigs to California in the 18th and early 19th centuries for hunting.
Pigs have spread throughout the state except for deserts, which are too hot and dry for their tastes, said Jeannine DeWald, Fish and Game associate wildlife biologist. They prefer damp shade, where they can keep cool when it is hot. The pigs can weigh up to 400 pounds each, making them bigger than most NFL linemen.
Wild pigs have invaded Bay Area communities at least twice in recent years, but this appears to be the first time they have hit San Jose. Most but not all of the creatures are nonplussed by humans.
``Usually they'll try and avoid you -- they have very poor vision,'' DeWald said. ``But if they get cornered, they'll charge you.''
In South San Jose, the pigs are going straight for the condo complex's soft, sweet green grass. Despite the reputation earned by their domestic brethren, they don't like table scraps.
They love to use their strong snouts to burrow into the dirt, searching for bugs and worms to gobble. That may sound innocent, but the pigs are wreaking havoc at California Maison, where groundskeepers have given up on the lawn.
``It looks like someone has taken a gigantic rototiller to it,'' Tarrant said.
The complex has set traps and caught five pigs, but Tarrant estimates scores of others are too big to nuzzle up to the bait. He hopes Fish and Game will allow friends and neighbors to hunt and eat the animals.
``We're going to have the biggest block party luau that you've ever seen,'' he said.
But officials think that's unlikely. They say it is too dangerous to allow hunting in or near the condo complex. A good fence would be more effective, and nature is likely to take care of the problem.
``When the rain starts again, they'll retreat back to the oak woodlands areas,'' Fox said, ``especially if they get pressured.''
Contact Pat Lopes Harris at pharris@sjmercury.com <mailto:pharris@sjmercury.com> or (408) 278-3471.
