A black and white night vision photo of a large dark feral pig with glowing eyes walking through a field with tall grass

Feral Pigs

Managing Populations to Protect People & Nature

About Feral Pigs

What are feral pigs, and how did they get to the Bay Area?

Feral pigs, also known as wild pigs or wild hogs, are domestic pigs that have escaped or been released into the wild and have adapted to living in a natural environment. Their presence in the Bay Area is due to a few factors:

Early European settlers brought pigs to the area.
Pigs have escaped from farms over the centuries.
Some pigs have bred with Eurasian wild boars, which were introduced for sport hunting.

Why is it important to manage feral pig populations?

Public Health & Safety: Feral pigs are very aggressive, especially when they feel threatened, which poses a danger to human safety. Pigs can also cause traffic collisions when they wander onto roadways. Feral pigs can also spread diseases that affect both people and wildlife.
Protect the environment: Feral pigs can cause significant environmental impacts. They disrupt wildlife habitats by trampling vegetation and rooting for food, which leads to loss of native plant species and soil erosion. Pigs also compete with native wildlife such as deer for food which can cause local wildlife populations to decline.
Support Local Farmers & Economies: Feral pigs also damage crops which can lead to economic loss for farmers.

A large dark wild pig walks away from the camera on a hillside covered in bright green grass

Pig Management

In 2025, the Open Space Authority initiated a feral pig management project. This project includes working with contracted professionals to trap sounders (groups) as a humane, effective and ethical way to control feral pig populations on lands that are owned or managed by the agency. Staff continue to document the activities of feral pigs and the damage they cause to resources to develop the most effective and humane program to reduce their impacts on the land, protect public health and safety, preserve critical habitat and protect endangered plants and animals.

Public Meetings

Frequently Asked Questions

If you encounter feral pigs, avoid getting too close. If you see them, avoid sudden movements. Back away slowly and calmly without turning your back on the animal.

What should I do if a feral pig charges at me?

As hard as it may be, try to stay calm and take immediate action.
Try to find something that can create a barrier between you and the pig, such as a large rock, tree or any sturdy object.
If you can climb a tree or a high structure to get out of the pigs reach, do it.
If you don’t have a barrier or anything to climb, try to make yourself appear larger by raising your arms or holding open your jacket.
Shout loudly, but avoid high pitch screams. Use an object to defend yourself like a stick or a backpack to fend off the pig.

Pigs are intelligent animals and can quickly learn to avoid hunters. Trapping can capture multiple pigs at once, whereas hunting typically targets individual animals. This makes trapping a more efficient method for reducing large populations.
Hunting can also teach pigs to avoid certain areas, effectively displacing the pigs into neighboring lands (or urban neighborhoods) that may not have pig control efforts underway. The Open Space Authority's goal is to reduce regional populations by trapping whole sounders.
Feral pigs have a high reproductive potential, with females capable of breeding as early as six months old and producing multiple litters per year. The stress and disruption caused by hunting can lead to increased breeding activity, as the pigs instinctively try to replenish their numbers.

Wild pigs impact ecosystems through their rooting, wallowing and foraging, with a conservative annual estimate of $1.5 billion in economic damage nationally to agriculture and the environment.
Estimates vary, but one survey of California's Agriculture Commissioners found damage to agricultural crops, fencing, roads and trails reached $1.7 million for one year.