The origin of the pigs in Hawaii has two basic genesis. They were first brought over by the Hawaiians who traveled from about the 4th century onward from the islands of the South Pacific to Hawaii. The second invasion of pigs came after the white man arrived and it is said that Captain Cooke initially brought the larger European variety of pigs with him in the late 1700’s (this was evidently something discoverers did in general because Columbus also brought pigs with him from Europe to the West Indies when he discovered the new world). These two types have now interbred and most pigs found here are a combination of both breeds.
These feral pigs are very destructive. They generally hide in the areas away from people in Hawaii and their most popular living areas are the coast and mid-level rainforests where they do the best they can to wreak havoc on the existing flora and fauna alike. Their main implement of destruction is their super sharp tusks which they use to slice the earth beneath them into portions of turf like you might find rolled up at the the local nursery. The mess they leave is not as neat as the rolled up turf you would find at the store however as everywhere they root looks like a place that has been rototilled. The destruction to the rainforests is undeniable as the undergrowth is interfered with, invasive species are brought in attached to and within the animals and are thus inadvertently planted and the erosion damage to the land is considerable.
To make matters worse the female pigs are capable of having their own litter withing 10 to 12 months of birth and there after they are capable of having two litters a year, each possibly containing six or seven offspring. It is for this reason that forces have been mobilized to rid the islands of this pest either by killing them or by fencing them off into areas where they cannot be as destructive. One of the wildest and most exciting of all the activities we provide in Hawaii is the organized hunting of these animals. Visitors may participate in these hunts if they have the desire, stamina and dollars required to join and follow a group of trained pig hunt dogs into the forest to corner the animals while the lead guide plunges his knife between its shoulder blades to penetrate the heart.