A Canadian plague of invasive wild pigs is threatening to infest the US

A group of wild pigs roaming the Canadian side of the border is threatening to cross to the US, Associated Press reports. The highly invasive species is hard to eradicate.

According to research by the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, the pigs are a hybrid of wild boar and domestic swine. They are the most prominent invasive mammal in the country.

"Wild pigs are ecological train wrecks," Ruth Aschim, a University of Saskatchewan PhD candidate who published a study on the species, said in an institutional press release.

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Aschim explained that they can breed fast, "cause soil erosion, degrade water quality, destroy crops, and prey on small mammals, amphibians, and birds."

They can also transmit devastating diseases to pig farms. According to AP, they can carry the pathogen for African swine fever, which is deadly for pigs and can destroy businesses.

Wild pigs are not native to North America; they were brought to Canada from Europe in the 1980s. According to the University of Saskatchewan, the goal was to diversify livestock production.

However, after they got loose, they became an ecological problem. They can perfectly survive the harsh Canadian winters by making snow "pigloos".

Wild pigs can eat almost anything, so hunger is not an issue for the species. That allows them to thrive and reproduce in every season and ecosystem.

Ryan Brook, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan, told AP they have seen pigs near the border and across it during aerial surveys of the species.

The news agency mentions northern states like Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana are at risk. But southern states like Texas already battle large populations of invasive wild pigs.

Brook said the reproduction rate of the species is so high that killing 65% of the population would not be enough to reverse their growth tendency.

They are also evasive, so eradication methods like hunting are useless. Brook said the hunting rate for wild pigs is below 2%, but it teaches them to become nocturnal and more elusive.

Some methods that have worked for small US states that eradicated wild pigs are crowdsourced surveys, traps, and net guns fired from the air. Some have used poison, but it can affect other species.

Brook remarked to AP that acting quickly before the wild pigs can start their reproduction spree and multiply is the most important thing.

A US Department of Agriculture program provides funding for states battling wild pigs. The agency estimates the swine population in the country totals around 6 million in at least 35 states, said AP.

Mike Marlow, an assistant program director, told the news agency that the program has been successful in some states, but the wild pig population is far from eradicated in the US.