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Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Saturday, May 17, 2008

Road kill: Feral pig draws lots of gawkers

By Matt Johnson | Lee Newspapers

VIROQUA, Wis. — Staring down at the hairy behemoth, Andy Sherry of Viroqua could scarcely believe his eyes.

A feral pig weighing between 300 and 500 pounds had been hit by a semi tractor-trailer five miles south of Viroqua on Hwys. 14/61 early Friday morning. The vehicle that struck the pig had long since gone. But the massive animal was drawing a crowd.

“I took a look to see if it had any tusks,” Sherry said of the sow. “If it did, somebody got to them before I did. It was really a big, big pig.”

Jeremy Turben (from left), Phil Neprud, Ryan Flick and Brian Hooverson examine the carcas of a feral pig sow that appeared to have been struck by semi tractor-trailer on Hwys. 14/61 five miles south of Viroqua, Friday morning. The adult sow appeared to weigh between 300-500 pounds. (Matt Johnson photo)

Feral pigs have become a nuisance in southwestern Wisconsin. Large populations of the hard-to-find critters are thought to live in southern Vernon and northern Crawford counties.

While a feral pig was shot by a hunter in Genoa two years ago, this was the closest report of a feral pig to Viroqua.

Four employees of C&C Landscaping of Viroqua stopped briefly to look at the pig’s carcass at about 8:20 a.m. The pig appeared to have been dragged from the center of the road, and its main visible infliction was a severe head wound.

“It’s at least 300 pounds,” Brian Hooverson said. “It’s probably bigger. You don’t know how big they are until you’re standing next to one.”

A steady stream of vehicles pulled along the shoulder of the road as people tried to get a look at the pig.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources considers feral pigs an exotic species that poses of threat to both the environment and to agriculture. They can be killed by anyone with a small game license at any time of the year.