Razorbacks in the Americas

A razorback is an Americanism which referrers to any particular type of wild boar or pig in the region of North America. Most wild pigs were all introduced into the Americas by man when they first discovered America. Christopher Columbus intentionally introduced the domestic swine when he was in the West Indies so that any expeditions made in the future would have swine to hunt and feed off. Various other species of pigs were introduced by different people all over America. It is unclear who brought pigs first to Florida; it is said that Juan Ponce de Leon brought the first pigs over in 1525, but others say that Hernando de Soto brought into Florida the Eurasian domestic swine in 1539. More pigs were introduced into the Americas in the centuries that followed, and this became a common thing, including the Eurasian wild boar that originated European Russia to Great Britain.

As with any species that you introduce into a new country, they can become invasive, which is what happened in Brazil during the 1990’s. The free-ranging boars ended up crossing the boarder from Uruguay where they were introduced in the early 20th century for hunting purposes. They were identified as pests from around 1994 when the press took notice of this and made it publicly aware. It wasn’t until 2005 however, when in Rio Grande do Sul, licensed private hunting was authorised for feral boars. However, despite all this, there were farms established that bred the boars as an alternative to pork.

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