The Economist has an interesting article on feral hogs in the states. Apparently there are between 4 and 5 million formerly domestic pigs living wild in the States.

They are brutal, fertile, adaptable and intelligent so they spread quickly and leave a wake of destruction. Some get truly enormous – you may have heard of Hogzilla, a monumental individual weighing several hundred kilograms (pictured).

The problem started when the Spanish conquistadors released some of their herds while traveling across the Americas.

Since then problem has become so severe that many States have a shoot on site policy. Other States encourage trapping, poisoning specially trained “Hog dogs” and even hunting from helicopters!