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

Abstract

Populations of wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are burgeoning around the globe, and they are currently the target of extensive research and management efforts. Wild pigs are a highly successful invasive species that cause extensive damage to agriculture and native plant and animal communities. Lethal control is the most common management strategy used to reduce wild pig populations and their damage, and many lethal strategies rely on luring wild pigs to a specific location. Most commonly, a food commodity such as corn or maize (Zea mays) is used for attracting wild pigs to a site, but baiting with food is sometimes prohibited under wildlife laws, and visitation can be variable due to availability of alternative foods, level of harassment by humans, and acceptance of novel food source, devices, and activity. Wild pigs are highly adaptable with refined senses that enable them to interact with their environment and conspecifics in a complex manner. Wild and domestic pigs share keen senses, though differences exist due to suppressed stimuli, evolutionary gains and losses, or other factors related to needs for survival and fitness. Wild pigs routinely rely on acute olfaction to locate food, detect predators, and communicate with conspecifics. A pig's sense of taste is also considered to be refined and more acute than that of humans. An abundance of evaluations regarding various attractants for wild pigs has been conducted over the last several decades; yet, a scarcity of conclusive results on which attractants to use when and where still exists. As such, we undertook a comprehensive review of available information on potential attractants that could be used to aid management strategies of wild pigs such as hunting/shooting, trapping, pharmaceutical delivery, or density estimation. To complete this review, we assimilated and synthesized the most relevant literature, provide recommendations, and identify attractant evaluation needs for the enhancement of the global management of wild pigs.

Predicting functional responses in agro‐ecosystems from animal movement data to improve management of invasive pests

“…As omnivores, wild pigs feed on whatever resources are present (Mayer and Brisbin , Lavelle et al. ), but their population dynamics can be strongly influenced by pulsed resources (i.e., mast seeding; Bieber and Ruf ) motivating our prediction that the agricultural functional response in wild pigs would change as non‐agricultural resources became more available. Similarly, we found that, as non‐agricultural forage resources became more abundant within a wild pig's core home range, the agricultural functional response in terms of monthly crop use decreased disproportionately more in areas with high crop availability relative to areas with low crop availability.…”

Accounting for heterogeneous invasion rates reveals management impacts on the spatial expansion of an invasive species

“…A second reason for a decrease in CPUE from trapping could be that, since the start of the NFSP, there has been a large influx of less experienced trappers, and trapping work has expanded into new habitats where trapping techniques, including baits and lures, have not yet been optimized. For example, the attractiveness of specific baits can be relative to other local resources (Lavelle et al 2017). Trapping efficiency could likely be improved in areas where feral swine are rare or where baits are less effective by investing research in new baits and lures that are intensely attractive over a variety of ecological conditions (Lavelle et al 2017).…”

“…For example, the attractiveness of specific baits can be relative to other local resources (Lavelle et al 2017). Trapping efficiency could likely be improved in areas where feral swine are rare or where baits are less effective by investing research in new baits and lures that are intensely attractive over a variety of ecological conditions (Lavelle et al 2017).…”

Movement responses inform effectiveness and consequences of baiting wild pigs for population control

“…Baiting of wild animals has positive and negative attributes for wildlife management and control. Baiting can increase efficacy of population control activities by attracting the pest species across broad landscapes (Lavelle et al, 2017). However despite this increased removal, baiting also generates unwanted conditions such as concentrating animals, increasing contact and spread of diseases, increasing fecundity, habituating wild animals to humans, and more (Dunkley and Cattet, 2003;The Wildlife Society, 2007;Sorensen et al, 2014).…”

“…Baiting is one of the most commonly used methods for applying control methods for wild pigs, or monitoring populations of wild pigs (Mayer and Brisbin, 2009;Engeman et al, 2013;Bengsen et al, 2014;Lavelle et al, 2017). Typically, baits stimulate both smell and taste for wild pigs, and provide sustenance (Lavelle et al, 2017).…”