Photo supplied: FortSaskOnline
An invasive species is threatening crops, waterways and small animals in the area.
While many may have heard about parts of the United States being overrun by herds of wild boars, some would be surprised to find out that central Alberta is a hotspot for the destructive hogs as well.
Introduced in the 80s and 90s, the boars originally were intended to help diversify Alberta’s agriculture. The boars were meant for meat or hunting farms where people could hunt them in an enclosed area.
“In doing so, we bred this wild animal with domesticated pigs and created this mega invasive species that has all of the traits of both. So it’s a wild animal, but it breeds really fast, is really big and has lots of offspring,” said Megan Evans, executive director with the Alberta Invasive Species Council.