ON WILD HOGS AND JAVELINAS: HISTORY, BIOLOGY, MANAGEMENT, AND HUNTING. By Richard B. Taylor.

2017 1st edition. 8vo paperback (152 x 228mm). Ppxiv,274. B/w photographs, maps and illustrations, bibliography.

"Hogs have overrun America: They are found in the middle of our biggest cities and they cause untold millions of damage to farmlands and manicured gardens alike. Where did all these swine come from and how did they land up on American shores where they do not belong? The history of the hog in America is a long one that dates all the way back to the period of Columbus. Since that time no large feral animal has more successfully established itself and none has endured more attempts by the hand of man in controlling its numbers than the hog." The author gives us a comprehensive history of the feral pig in America; where they occur, how and with what to hunt them, how to trap them if they cannot be shot, what to be careful of (lots, apparently), and what methods to use to help you get your hog. There is also a good section on the javelina, a very distant cousin of the feral pig. A thorough and all-inclusive appendix covers a remarkably broad array of hog and javelina facts, stats and terminology, and further reading in case swine fever has struck you. Chapters include: History of wild hogs in North America; The Texas invasion; Status and distribution of wild hogs in North America; The biology of a wild hog; The bad, the good, and the ugly; Boar stories; Wild hog management; Hog trapping; Javelina - an American original; Hunting the wild hog and javelina; The taste of wild pork; A state-by-state overview of laws and regulations; Final thoughts. Appendices include: Facts, fantasies, myths; Results of study into the food habits and seasonal food components in the diets of feral hogs; Hog terminology; References and selected reading. "This is an animal we will have to live with no matter what and will likely be around as long as rats and coyotes, which is forever. This book will help you hunt them . . . or to cope."