Big boar bailed up by SQ Landscapes in collaring project

SQ Landscapes have teamed up with the Fitzroy Basin Association (FBA) to collar feral pigs around Mount Hutton, in an attempt to preserve the large proportion of remnant semi-evergreen vine thicket in the area.

Project Officer Lachlan Marshall said the monster was the biggest ever caught by SQ Landscapes in the six years that they have been collaring feral pigs for data.

"The trap that we got him in, the door was quite small so we were a bit shocked when we did see him in there," he said.

"We did a DNA sample and gave him an ear tag so that he's identifiable in case something happens to the collar.

"Then we put the collar on him and after about an hour he woke up and trotted off into the scrub, so now he'll give us data for every half-hour of his life, or for the next twelve months at least."

Mr Marshall said the big pig will provide vital data for the collaring project, which is the first phase in the eradication of pigs in the area.

"What's unique about that pig is that we don't get a hell of a lot at that size, we get a lot around the 80 to 100 kilogram mark, but it's good to get another in the count over 100 kilos to see what he does," he said.

"From what we know so far feral pigs don't move very far at all, but with these bigger animals, what do they do? Do they have the same patterns as the smaller size pigs or do they move a lot further?

"It will be interesting to see what his data shows us in the future."

FBA reached out to SQ Landscapes to undergo the catching and collaring of the pigs after failing to solve their problem through aerial shooting.

"They've done aerial shooting in the past and I believe it hasn't quite been successful, so the collars will allow us to see where the pigs are in that landscape and we'll be able to use their seasonal data if we can get twelve months worth, to actually look at where the pigs are throughout the year," Mr Marshall said.

"I think FBA would like to do an aerial shoot in that area again once we have a better data set of what pigs are doing in that patch, so we can actually target a specific area.

"We'll use their movements as a bit of an idea of what other pigs are doing, so we can better target our time, whether that be shooting, trapping or baiting, in those hot spot areas rather than just having a bit of a guess.

"As we know, we need to take out at least 70 per cent of the population there to have an impact, otherwise we won't actually put a dent in the feral pig population."

After beginning the project in October last year, results have shown that the pigs have a small home range, choosing to move within the same three to five square kilometre area.

Landowners in the area have been surprised that groups of pigs have not come down from the mountains over the last four months, suggesting that there is enough water to sustain them without the need to move to lower ground.

Five landholders have committed their land to the project, with property sizes ranging from 4000 to 8000 hectares.

Also read: Feral pig explosion 'heartbreaking'

Also read: Cooperation at the heart of national plan to tackle feral pigs

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