Ken may know if the range for hunting hogs has extended beyond that area but I don't.
As far as I know, we don't have any/many "wild boars" as far north as you and I. They were intentionally introduced in the very southern counties many years ago, but have not moved very far north. We can shoot them out of season because they are not supposed to exist in our counties.
Sometime, when you are visiting, I'll show you a funny story about a friend, who you have met several times, who encountered a wild pig on her school bus route. The pig wanted on the bus. It wouldn't let her move the bus. There was a great story about it, in the local paper about it, from about a dozen years ago. But, it wasn't truly a wild boar/wild pig like they have in Texas.
I definitely have mixed feelings on the topic of wild hogs. The hunter in me thinks they'd be a lot of fun to hunt but the conservationist in me knows the damage they cause.
I don't want them. They have invaded the area where I grew up. The damage they cause is incredible. I don't want to fight them.
I would think that cougar sightings would increase in these hog areas, too. How's your cougar population in PA and WV?
As far as I know, they are officially extinct in Virginia and West Virginia. I've seen, and reported, two cougars in-the-wild in my 40+ years living in this area. Both were on shores of the Shenandoah River.
One was an adult. It was near dusk, near one of my favorite SMB fishing holes, just up-river from where Gooney Creek empties into the South Branch of the South Branch Shenandoah. The cat was a little darker than golden labrador dog. I was floating in the river, it came down a well-worn wooded path on a rather steep bank. I watched it take a few licks of water from the river before it spotted me. It then slowly backed up the path, and completely disappeared into the background in just a few feet.
The second one was a juvenile that was darker than the one I mentioned above. I saw this one, just below Paris Mountain, near Frogtown, VA. I was just north of US Route 50, near the public access. It was early summer, and just above sunup. I was on the west-side of the river, driving north on an old trail. The cat was on the east side of the river, running north in a pasture across from me. It was about the color of a chestnut-colored horse. The really noticeable part was its tail. It seemed to be at least as long as the cat's main body.
There are regular sightings, and sighted kills of pets, in this area from these "extinct" critters.
I sure don't want to put CJBS on the spot. He may not be able to comment. If he can, it sure would be interesting to hear both sides of this argument.
If they haven't been reported in CJBS's patrol area, they have been reported just south and west, in the Occoquan area in the adjoining county, near where he patrols.
I'm a Sasquatch agnostic. But, I sure think I've seen cougars, or whatever they may be called, in our area.
I've never seen a wild pig.
It is kind of crazy. In the last couple of weeks, I've seen, what I assume, are bear scat piles near the ponds and chicken coop. We never see the bears. I need to get my game cameras out again. I've got the batteries charging now. I will set them out tomorrow.
Maybe, I'll be the first one to get a good clear photo of Sasquatch.
