Shifting to sounders: Whole sounder removal eliminates wild pigs

Abstract

AbstractWild pig (Sus scrofa) eradication in demographically open populations has seemed an impossible feat for managers, but more recently, whole sounder removal (WSR) has been proposed as a trapping strategy that has the potential to be successful in eradicating wild pigs from an area. However, little empirical data exist concerning implementation of whole sounder removal strategies. Our objective was to implement and describe wild pig management using WSR. We established a 27‐km2 area (northwest section) where sounders were removed using WSR and a 29‐km2 area (southeast section) where GPS collars were deployed on Lowndes Wildlife Management Area in Alabama. Prior to implementing WSR, we used game cameras over bait at a density of one camera/km2 in November 2014 and counted 65 and 100 individuals in our northwest and southeast sections, respectively. We began WSR July 2015 and by May 2016, we reduced the estimated population by 90%. However, due to births and seasonal movements of pigs in the periphery of the study area, the population fluctuated between 10–20 individuals from May 2016 to December 2017. In December 2017, we removed the last known remaining sounder, and using game cameras, observed no sounders in the northwest section for the following 7 months, the remaining length of the study. We determined that using the WSR approach can lead to a delay before inevitable recolonization. Therefore, WSR can be a successful tool to significantly reduce a wild pig population and potentially provide managers a pig‐free area.