Hunting Wild Pigs in Hawaii
15 March 2010
On the first night of our recent visit, we took advantage of a full moon and
hiked up to the field, listening carefully for wild pigs. Farmer Gary
is experienced enough to tell how big the pigs are by how quickly they can
bite through the hard shell of a macadamia nut. One loud crack means
one BIG PIG! We heard a crack and Gary headed back for his shotgun.
Our friend Matt and I followed him back up to the field carrying just our
hunting knives.
Pigs have an incredible sense of smell, much better than a dog's, but they
have poor eyesight. They also don't have many natural enemies in
Hawaii so they are relatively easy to sneak up on. If you approach
from down wind, you can get amazingly close. Gary waits until he is
closer than 20 feet then aims for the center of mass so he can get a clean
shot even in the dark. With just the moon for lighting it is surprising
that he has such success. I have seen him shoot two times and each
time he killed a pig.
Even with twelve gauge buck shot through his heart, this pig came charging
toward us, right through the fence. At the last second he turned toward
the upper coffee field. We ran hard after him. He made it about 60
yards before falling. Matt grabbed his hind legs and I cut his throat
with a large SOG knife. I had so much adrenalin pumping that I completely
severed his spine. This put him out of any pain and bled him out quickly to
preserve the quality of the meat.
We drug him up the hill and it took all of us to hang him by his hind legs
from a large mac nut tree. Matt is experienced at butchering hogs and
had him dressed out in a few minutes. I helped skin the carcass and
was amazed at how tough the skin was. We probably got more than 30
pounds of good meat off of this two year old, 160+ pound male. Due to
their good diet and the quick kill, there is no gamey flavor or toughness.
We barbequed a piece next to a pork roast from Costco and it tasted the
same. Matt took some meat home and smoked it. Yum!
If this story offends some of you, I apologize. But I don't apologize
for hunting the pig. I am a very active conservationist and work many
volunteer hours preserving wetland habitats. I am convinced that these
pigs have multiplied into a huge threat to the Hawaiian environment as well as
the domestic farms. Hunting them for food is the best and most productive
way to help control the population. I highly recommend the experience.
Papa Gary
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