[Sca-cooks] OOP Wild Pigs in America? was: Wild pigs WAS Came ls

[Decker, Terry D.]

The collared peccary or javelina (Tayassu tajacu) is native to the Americas
and ranges from the U.S. Southwest to northern Argentina.

The wild boars under discussion are feral hogs mostly descended from
whatever varieties were imported from Europe and were abandoned or escaped
into the brush from the 16th to the 19th Century.  The U.S. Civil War added
to the population in some parts of the country.

The difference in taste is the difference between being mash fed and
foraging in the woods.

Bear



> I can see how wild boars are very, very scary
> critters. However, I was not aware that they were
> native to the Americas. Are we talking of the
> Eurasian wild boar (our local northern variety),
> sus scrofa? Or are those feral domestic pigs
> (presumably of a 17th or 18th century breed, not
> those modern pink tubs of lard)? They taste
> completely different, and the European market for
> 'wild pig' is exclusively for sus scrofa. Other
> breeds of pig are sold as 'pork', though the
> historic breeds fetch higher prices.
>
> Yours in Curiosity
>
> Giano