'Superpigs' could soon invade cities

(CBC)  In the northeastern Alberta town of Lamont, residents have been warned to be on guard against a possible invasion of wild boars. 

Roaming swine have been spotted inside town limits, prompting the community to send out a safety advisory.

"Be calm and move slowly," reads the notice. "Do not corner or provoke the animal."

For decades, Alberta has waged a battle against wild boar — a term that refers to the Eurasian wild boar but also to hybrids of domestic pigs and Eurasian wild boar, and wild or feral pigs.

Wild boar have been spotted in at least 28 rural municipalities and counties.

The province recently stepped up eradication efforts with increased surveillance, trapping, and cash bounties in exchange for the animals' ears.

Recent sightings are a reminder that the elusive animals remain a threat to rural and urban habitats, said Ryan Brook, an associate professor of agriculture at the University of Saskatchewan and director of the Canada Wild Pig Research Project.

Wild boars are expanding their range and could soon move from the bush into Alberta cities, Brook said.

"They're incredibly mobile. Very smart. They eat almost anything. They can survive in a huge range of habitats. 

"And so this is, unfortunately, exactly what we should expect to see more of in the future."

Aggressive action will be required to keep the invaders from becoming a permanent fixture in backyards, city streets and town parks, Brook said. Any community south of the boreal forest border is at risk, he said.

"They're the worst invasive large mammal on the planet."

The vast majority of wild boars in Alberta are hybrids.

Brook describes them as "superpigs."

Wild boars usually live in the forest, emerging to devour crops, contaminate water sources by wallowing in wetlands and harass livestock. They carry diseases that can be transmitted to domestic pigs.

Urbanized populations of the pigs found in the southern United States and European cities, including Berlin, have proven incredibly destructive, Brook said. The animals root through yards, devour flower beds and parkland, cause havoc in traffic, and attack people and pets.

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