COLUMBIA, S.C. — Feral hogs have been an issue in South Carolina since the 1500s. Hogs like soft dirt that they can root in, which is what the wild animals have been doing at Congaree National Park. Now rangers are hoping to stop these animals before they get too close to guests.
Park rangers like Jon Manchester have reported seeing hog damage over the last few weeks. Now, the park is teaming up with the USDA to mitigate this problem.
"We're going to try to get as many as we can," Manchester said.
The hogs are slowly starting to work their way toward the front of the park, with some of the latest damage happening just a staircase away from the visitor center.
These large animals are not only digging up the ground, but they could also be causing problems for the firefly population at Congaree National Park, as well.
"What we're worried about is because they're rooting around in the soil, that's where the firefly larvae live. We don't want them to get rid of all that larvae. If they did damage on a prolific enough basis in a couple of years, we might not see any fireflies because of that impact," Manchester explained.
18-year-old hog hunter Madison Tankersly says these wild animals can not only be harmful to other species but people, as well.
"They're scary," Tankersly said. "They're not your pink pig that's all fluffy and nice, they have hair on them, they're usually brown and black spotted. They have tusks, the males or bores have tusks, and the females are going to be pretty aggressive when they have young."
To make sure the hogs keep their distance, the park will begin their management the evening of May 17 through the 18 and another round again on the nights of May 25 to 26.
The park rangers assure that the feral hog management should not interfere with the synchronous firefly event this year.