Feral Hog

## Description

Domestic pigs quite readily become feral, and feral populations often revert to a similar appearance to wild boar; they can then be difficult to distinguish from natural or introduced true wild boar (with which they also readily interbreed). The characterization of populations as feral pig, escaped domestic pig or wild boar is usually decided by where the animals are encountered and what is known of their history.

One characteristic by which domestic and feral animals are differentiated is their coats. Feral animals almost always have thick, bristly coats ranging in colour from brown through grey to black. A prominent ridge of hair matching the spine is also common, giving rise to the name razorback in the southern United States, where they are common. The tail is usually long and straight. Feral animals tend also to have longer legs than domestic breeds and a longer and narrower head and snout.

## Attacking

When hunting Feral Hogs, the hunter must be careful not to get too close. The animal may charge the player. If the animal hits the player, the player is put into the Player Hurt state.

## Hunting Tactics

*Introduction*

You can find many groups of Feral Hogs scattered over the maps of Logger's Point and Settler Creeks. Their vivid movements seems to spread them wide and it is hard to pinpoint a hot spot in these reserves. In Rougarou Bayou it seems a lot easier to find many of them quickly if you are specifically after these pigs. The more south you are, the more dominant they will be. No other animal will compete for your attention there except the seemingly omnipresent Whitetail Deer.

*Spawning*

Feral Hogs travel alone or in mixed groups of up to five animals. A very common constellation is two males and three females.

*Clothing*

The Feral Hog's senses are average compared to some other animals. The ferals are more aware than the deer species though. Consider using Sneaky 3D  Summer Camo clothes to reduce your visibility. Sneaky 3D camo clothes provide no scent or sound reduction though. In an area with a lot of Feral Hog activity such as the southern parts of Rougarou Bayou you may also use a  Ghillie Suit. Many pigs will enter your influence radius where you can lure them towards you if you see or hear them.

*Scent Eliminator and Wind Indicator*

This species has a sense of smell and will detect players around them. Especially when upwind, you will see close-by animals stick their nose into the wind, then run away. The  Scent Eliminator works against all animals with a sense of smell. Apply it when you want to get close to the animal of your choice. Also, make sure to pay attention to the wind direction by observing objects tossed around or by using  Wind Indicator. Use it and follow the smoke with your eyes to see in which direction it is blown. As a general rule of thumb, the wind will blow towards the North-East on all maps. If you are not sure about the wind conditions, apply the  Scent Eliminator just in case. It doesn't hurt to use it once too often if you want to be on the safe side and not regularly spook animals by your smell.

The smelling sense is the Feral Hog's most developed one, so pay extra attention to the according protection and the wind.

*Searching*

You will find hunting Feral Hogs rather easy as long as you call any group that you locate, but once you start tracking them they can be a good test for your stalking skills. Often times you think you are still far away from them based on the track information given to you by the Huntermate, but then realize they have been sleeping or feeding and are actually very close to you, or they have changed their roaming direction. The Feral Hog and the Wild Boar have a special feeding (or "rooting") track that you will not see for other animals. When these pigs dig for roots they leave a large patch of nuzzled up dirt. This happens for example in the early mornings. Be careful when you find these tracks, you don't know how much time they have spent there.

The scores of Feral Hogs and  Wild Boars are based on their weight and their tusk sizes. Both values are added to make the total score. If the weight part of the score is bigger, then the final score gets a "W" added. If the tusk part is bigger, the final score gets a "T" added. The weight to score relation is rather high. The heaviest boars usually have the most impressive tusks. Follow tracks of heavy males, ideally heavier than 190kg. The maximum weight is 204kg for males.

*Luring*

Use the  Hog Caller or the  Hog Scent Spray for luring single or multiple hogs towards you. The luring effect of the caller lasts quite long, but at the same the Feral Hogs tend to approach you very slowly. If there is a group, many times only one or two animals are on the move. The others will stand around a bit before making the next step. Be careful when they are very close or you could be attacked, see Aggression below. Their walk towards you is fairly straight. You can easily plan and execute an ambush on the hogs from a  stand or an elevated position with an open line of sight. The behavior that you learn around Feral Hogs can be easily applied on the  Wild Boars and vice versa.

*Baiting*

This animal can be lured with Bait, i.e. food that is presented to the animal in appropriate containers. The baiting stations have two effects. They increase the number of spawnings of the attracted species in the area, and they attract those animals that come within the attraction radius of the container. Baiting is used by many players to accumulate great numbers of animals around the stations. Consider this very effective method if you enjoy hunting the species in question. Hunting your feeders can be nicely supported by using  stands. Place yourself in a stand and shoot any number of baited animals near the feeder. Others will scatter and run away, only to return some time later. The  attractiveness of the feeder will stay at 100% for the duration of the hunting session. You can harvest a great number of animals if you spend a few hours at your baiting station.

*Field Judging*

When you have multiple Feral Hog males especially around feeders, a high Spotting Skill is of course very helpful. If you are just building up this skill, look out for males with big tusks when you are close. From further away it might be a bit more difficult to judge the tusks when the hog is not facing you or moving through vegetation. You may then look at the body size. Often times you will find a lot of males and females around a well performing baiting station, but only one or two will be "monster size" males in the most cases. If you are not sure which of all the present hogs will score best, take out these big ones first.

*Aggression*

This species is one of those that can attack you. This happens if you shoot at it or when you got really close to it. The animal will start an aggression animation and look fiercely at you. It can also makes growls that you wouldn't normally hear. If you see the animal doing this you have a chance to run away or get ready for a shot. Sometimes the animal will abort the attack and flee. It can also happen that an animal will start fleeing but then stop and turn around for an attack. If you are very close to a species capable of attacking, have a firearm ready for your defense, or back out. You can also be completely blindsided by an animal that you did not realize it was there. When attacked, you will be  hurt and will need to either heal yourself with a  First Aid Kit or fast travel to a  tent or lodge.

*Shooting the animal*

The shot must be well prepared. Search a good place where you can stay undetected. Avoid hasty shots. A good  spotting skill  will support you picking the right animal if there are severals. Wait until the animal of your choice has come close enough for a good shot, or until you can safely hit a vital from the side. It is not always possible to set up an ambush, or to move away on time. Stay alert for other animals (e.g. from a group) that might have come very close to your lure, and make sure to go for a shot before one of these could spook and flush everything around them.

The pig species in the game have a fat shield that heavier (older) males build up by fighting each other. This raises the penetration threshold slightly for organs that are protected by the shield. It promotes a tactical choice of shooting distance and caliber, depending on the size of the target. The Feral Hog is not very large, but this shield requires the hunter to plan the shot. Bring your strongest  rifle. A good weapon is the fast reloading .30-06 Lever Action Rifle, especially near a feeder. You can keep shooting with this rifle while keeping sight on them. For heart shots you need to aim slightly behind the front leg, as opposed to other animals that have their heart more centered above the leg.

*If the animal flees*

If you spook the animal of your desire, follow the tracks crouching. Use your optics and try to spot it, and also look for tracks or vocal signs. Do not go too fast. The animal can stop fleeing abruptly and return to roaming, and the roaming can be in any direction including coming right back at you. If you end up bumping into the animal it will flee again. Take your time. If the animal is worth it, a few more minutes will pay off.

### Quick Start Locations

Start at the following lodge(s) for quickly finding this species.

 Highland
 L'île du Canard Noir
 Walkabout Creek

## Organs and Bones

2 = Brain
3 = Neck bone 1
4 = Neck bone 2
5 = Neck bone 3
6 = Spine bone 1
7 = Shoulder bone
8 = Spine bone 2
9 = Spine bone 3
10 = Hip bone
11 = Heart
12 = Lungs
13 = Liver
14 = Stomach
15 = Intestines
16 = Body