New Research Shows Why Feral Hogs Are A Growing Texas Problem

If you've spent much time around Texas ranches, farms, or rural property, you've probably heard complaints about feral hogs. They're known for tearing up fields, damaging fences, and creating headaches for landowners across the Lone Star State.

Now, new research suggests feral hogs may be doing something else many Texans have suspected for years: changing wildlife behavior.

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Deer And Hogs Don't Seem To Mix

Researchers recently tracked both deer and feral hogs using GPS collars to study how the animals interacted on the same property. The research suggests deer actively avoid areas heavily used by feral hogs.

Their findings were jaw-dropping and eye-opening. Despite thousands of camera images and months of tracking data, researchers rarely found deer and feral hogs occupying the same areas at the same time. In many cases, deer appeared to leave before hogs arrived.

The photos below are from my cameras, and it's not just hogs that are invading my deer feeders, if you'll notice, one of the photos shows glowing little eyes belonging to hundreds of field rats.

Why It Matters

For Texas landowners, it's very important. Experts say feral hogs already cause significant damage to crops, pastures, water sources, and native habitat. If deer are also avoiding areas where hog activity is high, it could further impact how wildlife uses that property.

Researchers found that deer sometimes stayed away from feeders and avoided that habitat for days after hogs moved through an area.

A Growing Texas Challenge

According to the Texas Department of Agriculture and wildlife experts, feral hogs remain one of the most destructive invasive species in Texas.

While Texans have long known the damage hogs can cause to land and agriculture, this latest research appears to support what many ranchers have been saying for years: feral hogs may be influencing much more than the ground they are tearing up.

And that's something worth paying attention to long before fall arrives.

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