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A few weeks ago, my husband and son, Jake, set up a hog trap for wild hogs. Feral hogs have been destroying pastureland on Cross Creek Cattle Company. Since our livelihood depends on grass for our herd, we cannot sit back and watch as these wild nuisances wreak havoc.

The wild hog trap is a simple design meant to capture as many hogs as possible using cattle panels and t-posts. The trap is almost heart-shaped as the last two pieces of panel curve back inside creating an entrance. The hogs push their way between the two panels to get the corn inside. Once in, they cannot get out. The trap works well as we have trapped several hogs since then.

We have driven up on numerous hogs, but never seem to have a gun when we do. We have named one boar, The Bear, because he is so big that he looks like a black bear. He is the largest wild boar we have seen in these parts.

We have some men working for the ranch in fence repair. My husband sent them ahead early this morning to get started while he finished checking the cows, feeding the horses, etc. A few minutes later, Lane received a phone call from the employees informing him that a huge pig is trapped and trying its hardest to escape. They went on to say that its back is as high as the panels, which are 4′ tall. Lane let me know so that I could finish his chores as he sped away. We just knew it was “The Bear.”

Well since there are fish stories, I should not be surprised that there are hog stories, too. And in defense of the men who called, they were situated on top of the hill looking down into the trap. Maybe the pig’s back did in fact look that tall. It quickly became very obvious to Lane that the hog was certainly not “The Bear.”

My husband is not a huge man. He stands at 5′9″ and weighs 145 pounds. In comparison the hog is really a big boar. It outweighed my husband by twenty pounds. Wild hogs are mean and have sharp teeth and tusks. I am glad that the hog was trapped when my husband saw it.

So Lane ended up spending a good part of his morning cleaning a large wild boar for the sole purpose of making sausage. It just goes to show that as a Ranch Manager you never know what your day will bring. Never a dull moment at Cross Creek Cattle Company, and we are still on the hunt for “The Bear.”