Feral Pigs in Oregon (Eugene: live, fence, farm)

[sarahkate_m]

Have any of you ever witnessed feral pigs here in Oregon, in the city?

My partner told me he thought he saw a pig the other early AM when he was having a smoke on the balcony. I didn't really pay much attention to what he said. At first he thought it was a possum, except it moved really super fast & erratically, zig zagging through the brush below the balcony, which made him think of a pig.

We live between Amazon & Hilyard in Eugene. We'd never expect to see a pig, although there are turkeys & deer. Our neighbors have chickens, which may be clandestine. But you can't own pigs unless you're on forest/farm land, which would be like Lorane, not... Eugene. I think.

A few days later, around 3 AM we were awoken by the most bizarre sounds outside our bedroom window, which is ground level & below where the balcony is. There were a lot of running around sounds (not too unusual because a doe & her fawns sleep out there) but then the wierdest, loudest grunts & squeals... I swear it sounded like pigs. And there was a really super LOW grunt that really made me think of a huge male pig.

It sounded like they were really running around frantically. It lasted a few minutes. We didn't have the nerve to shine a flashlight out the window or even peek.

I googled the topic & there is evidence that feral pigs are a problem in our state. I emailed the fish & wild life department to let them know. I don't know if it made a difference but I tried to let the right people know. Maybe they just went on a joy run from a farm a few miles away... I have no idea. It hasn't happened again. This was a few weeks ago.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Kate

[Hawk J]

One time someones lost Llama came up our shale rock logging road driveway...

another time a horse...

thar hav bean goats, chickens, ducks tooo

twice snapping turtles have searched thru the forest & found my basspond...

[seashelly]

A lost peacock jumped down out of one of our trees in our driveway once, lol. That was a shocker, lol.

[nightwoman]

Oh, I have also seen two black pigs foraging on the grass between City View and Oak Patch along the bike path. A biker told me that someone who works on the other side of the Amazon creek lets his pigs roam for a little while. I did call 911 and they said they'd check it out. Who knows what came of it. That was in the summer 2009.

[Metlakatla]

Um, do you mean to say that you called 911 on a couple of harmless pigs?

When I was in Alaska for the summer I was reading the local paper; in the police report it stated that someone had called 911 because they saw a black bear by the creek.

[nightwoman]

I lost my other post..

I just heard high pitch squealing of perhaps two fighting pigs. Also heard some grunts. After I opened my window and made my whistle, they stopped and ran towards the broken fence to the Amazon creek. I saw the silhouette of about 4-5 baby pigs running. They took off towards the west along the river bank.

[nightwoman]

Yes. I called the police on loose pigs in the city.

[esya]

I don't think feral pigs would be "harmless". If you know anything about pigs you know they will attack humans and will even attack weak members of their own group if there is blood. While I would not be as afraid of a single pig as a bear, mountain lion, etc. I certainly would keep my distance and certainly report it. They have sharp teeth and are "braver" in groups. In addition, it could be a source of infection.

Cute when babies, maybe, but in Oregon they'd have a high chance of developing into a wildlife nuisance.

[Metlakatla]

The 911 line is for emergencies, which was my point.

[Metlakatla]

In other words, it better not be my 82 year old father who needs medical help while the 911 operator (we only have one in this town) is busy with a non emergency call from someone who saw an animal.