Release most domestic animals in a forest and they will be gone within the year. Cows? Eaten. Chickens? Extra Eaten. But not pigs. Pigs revert — they survive and each generation is more close to some lost wild boar ideal form than the next. Why are pigs different? Are they less domesticated? Is it the omnivory? Is it their intelligence?
In a few decades people say they need power weapons to protect their families from the pigs. What the heck?
@futurebird
One town I lived in had a colony of feral chickens, right along the bike path, that sat in trees and clucked at you. I nearly fell off my bike the first time I realized it was a chicken in the tree.
I think type of chicken matters. Some of them are quite ferocious.
@realtegan@futurebird Yeah, I lived in a neighborhood with some feral chickens. There were definitely coyotes in the area as well, so I dunno how they managed to hold out, but they did. We called them the Freedom Chickens
@tuban_muzuru woah. All I know is everyone who tries to keep chickens in NYC … ends up with dead chickens— the cats and rats kill them. Can’t survive NYC how could they live in the real wild?
I used to have a little standup routine, about Jesus returning to earth and starts asking about the passenger pigeons, "wtf happened here?! There used to be billions of 'em. Ate 'em all ?!?!?! I told Dad maybe he went soft on you last time with the Flood! "
Yes indeed. More cows than people. We have a lot of Amish out here, Mennonites as well. I've been photographing this area for a few years. Probably going to do a video series.
@accretionist@tuban_muzuru@futurebird
IIRC rats also played a role in the demise of the Dodo. Probably would've taken longer but a good chance they'd've gone extinct anyway, even if we didn't kill them.
@futurebird@tuban_muzuru chickens are forest animals. They have no issue roosting in trees. Sometimes one or two of our birds will not come home from free ranging, they'll often be near the coop the next morning. Even if they are injured, they are survivors. Chickens are hearty and smart even if they can sometimes get confused by a fence. Like goats, if they can get high they can survive. 😁
@floby Technically chickens are also omnivorous. The wild ones catch frogs,lizards and rodents. And of course all birds love bugs. But here they get eaten by the rats instead of the other way around.
Could a race of super chickens be the solution to NYC’s rat problem? (thus replacing it with a super chicken problem)
My mother used to have a small flock of chickens, and, since it was a hobby, a lot were older breeds, and their intelligence and ability to survive independently was orders of magnitude greater than more common factory farm friendly breeds like leghorns
@futurebird
We started raising free range chickens about 7 years ago. I was shocked the first time I saw one eat a frog. So violent. They truly are tiny dinosaurs. 😄
@futurebird I asked a hunter about this and he said if they're in your yard you can pretty much shine a light at them and they'll run away... so a high powered flashlight should actually do it
@futurebird The most popular breed of meat chicken would be dead a few days after it would have been killed for food anyway as its paper-thin bones snap under the weight of the extra muscle it's been bred to have... That breed is just cruelty through and through...
@futurebird All the wild horses in North America are descendants of domesticated horses brought from Europe after becoming extinct here. Humans have been very good at letting animals we think are harmless loose to great destruction (see rabbits in Australia).
@futurebird I remember news about a cow, which left farm in Eastern Poland and joined herd of bisons in Białowieża forest. Now I’d want to know what happened after.
@futurebird
If my vegan propaganda is accurate, pigs can have intellectual capacity comparable to a toddler, which could translate into adaptability in new surroundings and pro-social behaviors.
@futurebird Interesting to read of the feral cattle of Hesquiat Peninsula of Vancouver Island. Released by Catholic missionaries during early European colonization. They no longer exist, but that is probably due to intense hunting pressure by humans.
@futurebird They were probably less receptive to domestication from the start. Mostly we domesticated animals that had a tendency towards being ok around people. Pigs probably just tasted too good to pass up.
Pack behavior + omnivory, I think. Any pack animal has an advantage for obvious reasons, they can do mutual support and finding mates for reproduction is a lot easier.
Wild dogs, of course, omnivorous pack animals, thrive in numerous settings, and also can be extremely dangerous to people.
@futurebird
We don't hunt feral pigs in Ontario, but my understanding is that the best rifles for hunting them are semi-auto light caliber (such as AR-15 chambered in .223/5.56). The reason being that the smaller caliber means less recoil so you can more easily shoot multiple pigs to try to take out the whole sounder (pigs travel in packs).
Contrary to popular understanding, an AR-15 is less powerful than most hunting rifles. It's just that power isn't what you need for some stuff.
I think it has to do with Location, Location, Location (and the resultant presence or absence of predators). There are feral cattle, chicken, goats, cats, horses and even camels in many parts of the world. There are also many parts of the world where feral pigs will be quickly preyed upon.
@futurebird we have wild #pigs, here in northern #California. They are stealthy, fierce, have thick, coarse, black hair, tusks, will kill you, chase you, play tricks on you, and are so successful that the state and its agencies are locked in a struggle with them over proliferation. They are the descendants of domestic pigs introduced by 18th century Spanish settlers. In ~300 years they've transformed from pink and tractable to fierce and dominant.
@kristfist@futurebird I think that, if I were to write a book of the history of human beings, one of the chapters would have to be titled 'You Reap What You Sow.' it's the lesson that keeps on giving. We are really not good at thinking ahead.
@futurebird I think it may be an intelligence thing. Pigs are really smart so they likely able to adapt to the change better than the other domesticated animals.
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