How do you know when to send the golden CLOSE GATE command? Wild hogs do not come with a sign on the last one in the group to enter saying “all in”. Let’s look at a scenario we are currently facing.
First of all, we need to remember the principal of the Jager Pro Hog Trapping system. Whole Sounder removal. Removing the whole sounder prevents educating remaining hogs. No more breeding, no more destruction. Gather your intel. Condition the wild hogs to the feeder. Condition hogs to the trap. Capture the entire sounder.
Look at the photos in this post. The first is from August 20th. This group of 8 piglets arrive to feed. There is no adult on any of our camera footage. The piglets are not acting hesitant, nor are they acting like they are attentive to anything outside the panels. If we wanted to, we could have dropped the gate and removed the 8 young. However, we know from the size and camouflage markings on the piglets they are likely still nursing from a sow. We considered perhaps the piglets are orphaned, and wandered in from a neighboring farm. Every visit had 7 or 8 wild hog piglets making entry.
Could we have dropped?
If we would have dropped the gate with an unseen sow outside, she would now be educated to the fact that the trap is danger. There is no guarantee she would stick around with her trapped piglets either.
The young returned several times over the next few days, and still no adult. Every image was studied for detail. Josey made entry on the trap for maintenance and looked for hog sign on the ground. Nothing was conclusive. We spoke to the farmer, deciding to watch the trap for just a few more days.
While looking over the images today, everything seemed relatively the same. Finally we received a photo with interesting details. At the very top of the screen were the hint of 3 feet and a snout. The parts were not from a large hog, but definitely large enough to be a sow.
While the hogs have yet to be trapped, we can now be fairly confident had we dropped the gate earlier we would likely have educated the sow. We know we are looking for 8 piglets and at least 1 adult to remove the entire group. The Hog Cutters team will continue watching the photos from this MINE camera, as well as photos from additional ICE cameras placed throughout egress areas. Following through with scouting and research will give us the best opportunity to capture the entire sounder. We will keep you posted.
