[OUTLINE] A research scientist believes the US is in the middle of a 'Pig Bomb' - where feral hogs are increasing in huge numbers.Dr. Jack Mayer, a zoologist whose been researching wild pigs for 40 years, has warned that the population could keep growing unless there is a swine flu epidemic.
His comments come just a week after a caregiver was mauled to death by wild hogs in Texas.
Christine Rollins, 59, was attacked and killed outside the home of the elderly couple she was looking after in what the local sheriff described as 'one of the worst things he has seen'.
It's unclear what provoked the attack by multiple animals, by Mayer claims that deadly wild hog attacks are more common than shark confrontations.
They are responsible for six a year on average, 'but you never read about them' he said.
'It's a crazy situation with everything that's happened in what I call the Pig Bomb, which has went
kaboom!in North America,' Jack Mayer told The Daily Beast about the wild population of six million and two million in Texas alone.
Caregiver Christine Rollins, 59, was attacked and killed by feral hogs last month. Now a research scientist has claimed a 'Pig Bomb' has blown up in the US
The attack took place outside a home in Texas where two million of the six million wild hog population lives.
'There's not another animal that can put little feet on the ground quicker than a wild pig.'
Throughout the 20th Century there were about two million wild pigs across 20 states but the tripled figure accounts for 48 states.
Mayer blamed global warming for increasing the survival rate of newborn piglets and producing more acorns, bulbs, roots and tubers for them to eat.
They can start reproducing at three months old and do so twice a year.
Various sized bites on Rollins suggested she was killed by a sow and her young. They can birth as many as 20 little ones which can weigh up to 50 pounds.
Related:
Feral hogs: 2019-01-26 Missouri Feral Hog Update: More than 9,300 hogs removed to date
Feral hogs: 2017-06-14 Culling feral hogs from the sky in Texas takes off
Feral hogs: 2016-02-01 Missouri Feral Hog Hunting Ban
Feral hogs: 2019-01-26 Missouri Feral Hog Update: More than 9,300 hogs removed to date
Feral hogs: 2017-06-14 Culling feral hogs from the sky in Texas takes off
Feral hogs: 2016-02-01 Missouri Feral Hog Hunting Ban