Invasive wild boars population rising in Bay Area with reports of more 'scary' sightings, damage

EAST BAY, Calif. (KGO) -- From the South Bay to the East Bay reports of sightings and damage from feral pigs are on the rise. They're destroying yards and wildlands and some agencies are hiring hog removal services.

Prolific breeders, wild boars are increasing their range across open spaces in the Bay Area this year- from parkland to backyards to water district properties and hiking trails.

"Some of the neighbors around the Anderson Dam Reservoir, once it was drained, have been seeing a perceived increase in pigs and their population has boomed because there have been three wet winters in a row," said John Bourgeois, the deputy operating officer with Santa Clara Valley Water District.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District has contracted with the USDA for pig removal. The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority is using a local boar trapping company.

"For people who are hiking on our preserve- those encounters can be pretty scary. They will occasionally harm people and exhibit aggressive behavior. They tend to eat food by plowing up dirt and kinda digging it up like a rototiller in your front yard or something like that," said Aaron Hébert, the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority Natural Resources manager.

MORE: SB 856: California law to control wild pig population pending Newsom's signature

They're eating endangered plants in the process.

"There are a lot of residents adjacent to our borders that will call up and complain about extensive pig damage to their landscaping, to their front lawns," said Doug Bell, program manager with East Bay Regional Parks District.

MORE: Feral pigs dig up lawns in Lafayette neighborhood

So this year, agencies across the Bay Area are banding together to brainstorm ways to battle the pigs.

"Like San Francisco Water, East Bay MUD, Contra Costa Water and California State Parks where we are developing a regional approach to feral pig management to get a better handle on their population, where they are moving," Bell said.