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Characterization of recent wild pig-vehicle collisions in Georgia, USA

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Abstract

Vehicle collisions with wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are reported almost everywhere this species is found. However, this is one of the least studied and characterized forms of damage that these invasive animals cause in the United States (U.S.). We analyzed 518 wild pig-vehicle collisions (WPVCs) that took place statewide in Georgia between 2015 and 2021. From that dataset, we analyzed several parameters in order to better understand and characterize these accidents on a scale that had previously not been done in the U.S. Wild pig-vehicle collisions were reported from 105 out of the 159 counties in Georgia, increasing in number annually over the seven-year period. WPVCs were most likely to occur in the fall (37%). A duration weighted time of day analysis showed that WPVCs were most frequent at dusk. Most (97%) reported accidents were caused by live wild pigs, with the remainder being due to collisions with already dead or road-killed pigs. Most (86%) collisions involved a single wild pig while the remainder occurred with two or more pigs. Collisions occurred mostly with passenger cars on dry, straight, and level two-lane blacktop roads under dark, unlighted conditions. Nine percent of the vehicle accidents involving wild pigs resulted in injuries to the drivers and passengers. Some of the most severe injuries reported were caused by swerving to avoid striking wild pigs. No human fatalities were recorded due to these accidents. Wild pig-vehicle collisions are costly and dangerous and should be closely monitored and mitigated by the agencies responsible for motorist safety, transportation infrastructure, and wildlife management.

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Data availability

The data used in this study are included as a supplementary material.

Notes

  1. Mayer and Brisbin (2009) reported that the average adult body mass of wild pigs in the U.S. is approximately 85 kg; Kammermeyer et al. (2003) reported that very large wild pigs in Georgia can exceed 227 kg in weight; Georgia Game and Fish (1967) reported the harvest of a 245-kg wild pig by a hunter in Burke County, Georgia.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Georgia Department of Transportation for providing our dataset and C. Killmaster, Georgia Department of Natural resources, for providing us with the Georgia wild pig hunter harvest data. We would also like to thank N. Snow, V. Brown, O. Stephens, J. Kilgo, S. Ditchkoff, and B. Strickland for reviewing and improving various drafts of our manuscript.

Funding

This project was funded by the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Feral Swine Damage Management Program. Contributions from JJM were supported by the United States Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management under Contract No. 89303321 CEM000080 to Battelle Savannah River Alliance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, 925 Weiss Drive, Steamboat Springs, CO, 80487, USA

    Jeremiah L. Psiropoulos

  2. United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Feral Swine Damage Management Program, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    Jeremiah L. Psiropoulos

  3. Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands, Colorado State University, 200 W Lake Street, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA

    Emily Howe

  4. Savannah River National Laboratory, Battelle Savannah River Alliance, Savannah River Site, Bldg. 999-W, Aiken, SC, 29808, USA

    John J. Mayer

  5. United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, 4101 LaPorte Avenue, Fort Collins, CO, 80521, USA

    Sophie C. McKee

  6. Economics Department, Colorado State University, 711 Oval Drive, Fort Collins, CO, 80521, USA

    Sophie C. McKee

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  1. Jeremiah L. Psiropoulos
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  2. Emily Howe
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  4. Sophie C. McKee
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation and analysis was performed by Jeremiah Psiropoulos and Dr. Sophie C. McKee. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Jeremiah Psiropoulos and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jeremiah L. Psiropoulos.

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Psiropoulos, J.L., Howe, E., Mayer, J.J. et al. Characterization of recent wild pig-vehicle collisions in Georgia, USA. Mamm Res 69, 131–144 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-023-00724-z

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