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INHS Seminar - Feral Hog Management in Eastern Oklahoma: Connecting theory and application

Event Type
Seminar/Symposium
Sponsor
Illinois Natural History Survey Seminar Committee
Date
Sep 7, 2021   4:00 pm  
Speaker
Dr. Michael J. Shaughnessy Jr., Dept. of Natural Sciences, Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, OK
Contact
Dr. Suneeti Jog
E-Mail
jog@illinois.edu
Views
86
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Meeting ID: 875 5527 2221  | Password: 420220

As feral hogs (Sus scrofa) continue to invade new habitats and expand their range both nationally and regionally, the need for their effective management becomes increasingly necessary.  In Oklahoma, feral hogs have been present at least since the 1970’s and have been moving northward through the state.  This expansion poses significant problems for management on both state and federally managed wildlife areas.  More recently, feral hogs have become established on the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge (SNWR) in Vian, OK.  On the SNWR, feral hogs degrade habitat and consume resources designed to primarily benefit waterfowl and migratory birds.  We monitored feral hog activity and habitat use over 18 months from April 2018 through September 2019.  Hogs were monitored using a grid of 30 motion-triggered cameras.  During this period, the feral hog population of the SNWR experienced two high-impact management culling events, continuous low-impact management trapping/removal and a single, catastrophic flooding event.  Patterns of population recovery were similar across both growing seasons.  After high-impact culling, feral hogs responded strongly to the agricultural management practices on the refuge during the growing season.  Feral hog population responses to natural disaster (flooding) mirrored the population responses to high impact management.  Refuge flooding only delayed the re-establishment of the population.  Feral hog mitigation efforts reduced populations significantly on the refuge but agricultural practices intended to benefit waterfowl and migratory birds create an ‘attractive sink’ which results in high levels of immigration and ‘re-colonization’ of the refuge by feral hogs.    

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