Are oestrous feral pigs, Sus scrofa, useful as trapping lures?

Abstract

Eight feral pigs (two boars, four sows and two piglets) were caught in traps using oestrous sows as lures during a control program on a remnant pig population in part of Namadgi National Park during spring, 1990. The program was mostly based on aerial baiting with warfarin. No pigs were caught in traps containing anoestrous sows or in traps containing bait only. Seven unmarked pigs (caught seven days after the cessation of baiting) did not appear to have eaten any warfarin bait. In an earlier pilot trial, two boars were caught at a trap containing an oestrous sow, one of these again in a trap baited only with fermented grain, but no pigs were caught at a trap containing an anoestrous sow. Although not cost-effective as a general technique, this method could be useful in specific circumstances, such as eradication campaigns on islands, if the last few pigs are, or have become bait shy, or are impossible to cull by other methods. Are oestrous feral pigs, Sus scrofa, useful as trapping lures?www.publish.csiro.au/journals/wr

Mammalian Visitation to Candidate Feral Swine Attractants

“…It is possible that strawberry flavors comprised of other chemical compounds may yield different responses among mammals. Other candidate attractants, such as grape flavoring, scent from female hogs in estrus, and synthetic fermented egg (e.g., FeralMonee; Pestat Ltd, Bruce ACT, Australia), warrant further evaluation (Choquenot et al 1993, McIlroy and Gifford 2005.…”

Feral swine damage and damage management in forested ecosystems

“…However, among a suite of 11 candidate flavors, strawberry was found to be a specific attractant for feral swine in southern Texas (Campbell and Long, 2008). Using sows in estrus as lures to aid feral swine trapping efforts has also been evaluated in Australia with mixed results (Choquenot et al, 1993;McIlroy and Gifford, 2005). At present, universal feral swine lures to augment grain bait in trapping efforts have not been identified.…”

“…This method has been coined the Judas pig technique and exploits the social attributes of feral swine. On large tracts of land involving discontinuous populations, Judas pigs may provide information on where to target feral swine control efforts (McIlroy and Gifford, 2005). For example, in the Namadgi National Park, Australian Capital Territory, the Judas pig technique has been used successfully to determine where to distribute toxic baits (McIlroy and Gifford, 1997).…”

Attractants for wild pigs: current use, availability, needs, and future potential

“…Because of this roaming behavior, males can be difficult to locate and capture using traditional, food-based attractants. However, presence of females in estrus in proximity to capture sites may help overcome this difficulty (Choquenot et al 1993;McIlroy and Gifford 2005).…”

“…During these peaks, males seek estrous females for mating opportunities using odor cues. Estrous females are attractive to males for 4-5 days (McIlroy and Gifford 2005) and come into heat every 18-24 days if not pregnant (Comer and Mayer 2009). Adult males (> 90 kg) may travel long distances (> 30 km) to successfully reproduce (Hampton et al 2004).…”