COLUMBIA, S.C. — News19 is following up on a story that's received a lot of attention: a South Caorlina woman who said she found feral hogs in her front yard..
"I was scared!" Herbilean Dunwoody of Columbia told News19 this week. "I didn't know what they were, saying like 'well, where did it come from? Why are they in my yard?'"
Dunwoody said she's lived in her home for over 40 years and has never seen wild hogs in her yard before.
Charles Ruth is the big game coordinator for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources who says wild hogs in the Midlands have become very common throughout the years.
"Richland County here in the Midlands is a good example because we have two major river systems--the Congaree and the Wateree--that converge in lower Richland and form the Santee," Ruth said. "That's just an outstanding wild big habitat."
Ruth said wild hogs are a danger to other wildlife in the area, including the native species that have been here longer.
"They've been here for several 100 years," she said. "They're not made, and they do compete with our native wildlife, for example, deer, wild turkey squirrels. anything that eats acorns they can pick your hogs or bad to damage agricultural crops, just general damage to natural habitat."
Ruth said if you see a wild hog, you are allowed to hunt them.
"There is no closed season or bag on wild pigs in other words you can hunt them all year long. the reason there is even a provision that allows night hunting."