Vernon G. Henry

European wild hogs (Sus scrota) were trapped, marked for identification and released. Recoveries by trapping and hunter kills provided data on survival, mortality, and longevity. Average annual survival was 49 percent and did not vary by age. Hunting mortality does vary with tagging age, season of birth and time of tagging. However, hunting mortality replaces natural mortality and does not increase total mortality. Most non-hunting mortality occurs between winter and spring. A mean life expectancy of 1.5 years, slightly higher for females; a population turnover period and ecological...

Wild sows are physiologically capable of farrowing during any season of the year. However, there are two main farrowing periods; mid-winter (January and February) and early summer (May and June). To determine the importance of the different farrowing periods and the most appropriate time to subject the species to hunting pressure, the year was divided into three periods: December-March, April-July, and August-November. Based on the percentage of sows killed on managed hunts which were pregnant, the December-March period has the highest natality and litters are larger during this same...