Wild hogs can be dangerous, but attacks are rare.

I once turned around a corner and faced a group of about 50 hogs, with lots of babies with them. I also had my dog with me, and I feared the presence of the dog would trigger an attack. However, the hogs just continued to dig and feed, and I grabbed my dog, turned around and left.

My dad is a hunter and has hunted wild hogs many times. He suggested to remain silent and leave the immediate area when coming upon a group of hogs or even just a single hog. The wild hogs can bite quite badly, and the males have large tusks which can cause fatal injuries. There is no way to outrun a hog, either.

Attacks are rare....this is good!

Being quiet as opposed to yelling and trying to scare them seems to be the best advice since I'm being told they have great eyesight and poor hearing.  Climbing a tree is not a great option here as the trees are large pines with no low branches.

If I come upon them again, I will just be extra quiet.  It just worried me seeing such a large group with babies.  I didn't know my best plan for excape if one charged me.

Thanks for your knowledge and advice.

Don't kick a piglet like a football and you should be alright...

I'll try to remember that! 

I do think that the razorback's of east Texas and the SE may have more aggressive nature than our California swine.  Heavier cover, more Russian in their genetics, less food....

I mean after all if the Cows are Happy in California shouldn't the pigs should be relatively content?

I think I've seen so many lately because of the deer hunter's feeders that are out there.  I run on private land that serves as a lease during season.  Now that whitetail season is over....yea! (Nothing at all against hunting, I just have to stay off the trail and pipelines during), their feed corn buffet should dry up and I'm hoping I won't have to worry about them being where I run anymore.  I've run out there for years, but this is the first year I have seen them so frequently.

I had my American Bulldog, Thor, with me when I saw them.  I'm glad he minds well and didn't feel the need to chase them.

NH - I hope to never come face to face with one of these big suckers, but if I do, I'll try the slap.

Rocky - Checked out your blog.  Really enjoyed it.  I love the pics with your horses.  My daughter and I have wanted to take our horses to Colorado for a long riding/hiking adventure, but we haven't ever been able to make it work out yet.

I have encounters with wild hogs pretty often, not so much when running but turkey hunting. Granted, during that time, I have a shotgun, but I am not going to shoot a hog and possibly ruin my turkey hunt. Anyway, several times last spring I came up on a whole gang of hogs in a field I was crossing. One morning in particular, it was extremely early, and I had two gobblers roosted on the edge of the field, slam dunk!!!! I wasn't using a light, just walking in the dark. I saw the outlines of hogs in the field and was very close, probably 25 yards or so when they ran. Two medium sized (150 pounds?) hogs came back around and got pretty close to me from the back. I stopped and looked at them, and they ran away. I have had lots of encounters similar to this, but this was the first time I had that many large hogs in one group that close. I have never felt threatened by them, but I know of stories where people have been chased. However, I mostly associate that with people who use to dogs to bay hogs; they get cornered and use what they have to defend themselves. I would say your best defense would be up the nearest tree because they can do some serious damage, even the ones that don't have big tusks showing. I know lots of folks who are terrified of them, and will not be caught in the woods after dusk or before dawn.

The hogs that morning ended up running right up under the turkeys on the roost and pretty much screwed the hunt up because they hung around the field edge for quite awhile. I don't think I killed either of those gobblers.