Serious warning or the latest round of media fear mongering? That’s for readers to decide as they grapple with reports that so-called hybrid “super pigs” are about to invade the United States from Canada, bringing with them the ability to single-handedly wipe out entire crops and animal populations.
The invasion is reportedly underway, as the cross between domestic pigs and European wild boar bring with them both size and intelligence, making them “the worst invasive large mammal on the planet,” according to one Canadian professor, Ryan Brook.
Apparently he hasn’t been to the U.S.-Mexico border yet.
ZeroHedge described the origins of the “super pigs” as the result of intentional cross-breeding designed to simply produce bigger pigs several decades ago and whose ill–conceived intentions are now bearing unwanted fruit.
The disaster started when Canadians imported European wild boars in the 1980s to add another agricultural dimension, mating them with domestic pigs to create bigger pigs. After the market for wild boar topped out in 2001, many ranchers simply let them loose into the wild, confident they stood no chance against winter in the Great White North.
However, the brainy beasts — whose DNA goes back to Siberia — quickly figured out how to make deep snow caves, even lining the bottoms with cattails scythed with their sharp tusks.
The previously cited professor, Ryan Brook, explained to The Guardian that the animals have adapted to thrive even in the frigid northern climate of Canada.
“They’re so warm inside that one of the ways we use to find these pigs is to fly first thing in the morning when it’s really cold, colder than -30, and you will actually see steam just pouring out the top of the snow,” Brook said.
He was later quoted in Field & Stream saying that this particular feral hog consume everything from baby geese and duck – potentially threatening entire populations – as well as take down large game like deer and elk.
“Wild hogs feed on anything. They gobble up tons and tons of goslings and ducklings in the spring. They can take down a whitetail deer, even an adult,” the Canadian reported to the magazine. “Originally, it was like ‘wow, this is something we can hunt.’ But it’s become clear that they’re threatening our whitetail deer, elk, and especially, waterfowl.”
ZeroHedge noted that the economic realities of wild pigs are already quite real. And that’s without including the new super pig breed in the number crunch. They estimated that around $1.5 billion in damages are inflicted every year in the United States, with destruction coming in the form of eating planted crops and devastating natural environments. Among the more concerning possibilities are issues of “devouring crops, uprooting trees, contaminating water, and carrying viruses that can leap into human populations,” the outlet wrote.
Of course, we have been here before. Prior to super pigs, Americans contended with the bizarrely hyped “murder hornet” invasion story. This conveniently cropped up around 2021 as everyone was still in the throes of heightened anxiety stemming from other global issues.
At the time, the New York Times crafted evocative reports describing their facial features as resembling that of sharks and able to quickly “decapitate” prey, but also that human victims experienced pain akin to “hot metal driving into their skin” and that “up to 50 people a year” die in Japan from the creatures.
The Times wrote in 2021:
With queens that can grow to two inches long, Asian giant hornets can use mandibles shaped like spiked shark fins to wipe out a honeybee hive in a matter of hours, decapitating the bees and flying away with the thoraxes to feed their young. For larger targets, the hornet’s potent venom and stinger — long enough to puncture a beekeeping suit — make for an excruciating combination that victims have likened to hot metal driving into their skin.
In Japan, the hornets kill up to 50 people a year. Now, for the first time, they have arrived in the United States.
Did murder hornets become a thing? Will the hogs? Time will tell.
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