With more than 500,000 deer harvested annually throughout the state, the hunting of white-tailed deer is important in Texas. This native Texas species is central to the culture and livelihood of many wildlife managers, hunters, and producers. Wild pigs, on the other hand, are an exotic invasive species that damage natural ecosystems across the state, with the added potential to negatively impact white-tailed deer populations. Wild pigs in conflict with deer known to exclude deer form natural resources, consume feed from supplemental feed sites, and even predate upon deer themselves.
The opening of deer season brings with it a number of considerations when it comes to wild pig management, as efforts must be made to reduce the impacts of these animals on native wildlife, including white-tailed deer.
Diet similarity and competition
One of the reasons wild pigs are successful is their diet plasticity, or their ability to consume many different food sources to reach their nutrient requirements. Because of this, if their preferred food is not available, they are still able to survive, and even thrive. Both deer and pigs prefer to eat primarily herbaceous materials, including browse and mast. Wild pigs, however, are opportunistic omnivores, and if vegetation is not available, they will select from other available resources to survive. Deer do not have this adaption, and if herbaceous material is not available, they cannot utilize an alternative food source. Wild pigs have been documented excluding deer from natural and supplemental feed sites, consuming food that would otherwise have been consumed by deer.In a productive year this may not be problematic, but in times when resources are scarce wild pigs may exhaust the resources required by deer before moving on to other food sources, leaving deer with few options. Wild pigs have also been documented as having a similar or greater rate of intake than deer, as well as a more efficient ability to extract nutrients from food during digestion, allowing them to be productive by growing and reproducing even when resource availability is not ideal. Given the overlap between deer and pig diets, the displacement of native deer from resources, and the ability of pigs to survive on varied food types, it is easy to see how wild pigs can potentially outcompete deer and other native wildlife for resources.
