Hiking France

Posted by: andycoleman

Hiking France - 07/03/12 02:33 AM

Going hiking in France and wondering if anyone can give me tips regarding safety issues there? i.e- wildlife-I know they have wild boar (if they're anything like the boar in NZ they will charge and do a lot of damage, if not kill) I don't want to (and probably legally can't) carry a rifle. Any other tips from anyone who has been would be greatly appreciated on any subject.
Posted by: phat

Re: Hiking France - 07/03/12 02:43 AM

Originally Posted By andycoleman
Going hiking in France and wondering if anyone can give me tips regarding safety issues there? i.e- wildlife-I know they have wild boar (if they're anything like the boar in NZ they will charge and do a lot of damage, if not kill) I don't want to (and probably legally can't) carry a rifle. Any other tips from anyone who has been would be greatly appreciated on any subject.


You should be so fortunate as to see one. I've hiked in boar areas in holland, and nobody ever had any concerns. they are relatively small, and avoid people, they've been hunted for centuries.

Yes, like any pig or cornered animal, if you box them in and threaten them (i.e. you're running them with dogs) you could get charged. but attacking a hiker? worry more about cars, or in france, mimes and unicycles.

My two cents? don't worry about it. these aren't like the (big) feral pigs you can find in some places, like texas and new zealand. (A friend of mine who was hiking in new zealand brought me a "pig hunter" magazine from a hut as a laugh - At least the kiwis know what to do with wild bacon.. I've never understood how texas - with the amount of bbq's and guns in the state, can have a wild pig "problem" )

Posted by: OregonMouse

Re: Hiking France - 07/03/12 04:08 PM

I heard a group (herd? pack? covey? gaggle?) squealing once, while "wild camping" in Provence (some years back when it was still allowed--last time I went there were "camping interdit" signs all over the place), but that's as close as I've ever been to encountering any. I figured they were sort of like black bears, so when hiking on a trail I'd start singing when coming to a blind corner.
Posted by: oldranger

Re: Hiking France - 07/05/12 11:11 PM

Originally Posted By phat
I've never understood how texas - with the amount of bbq's and guns in the state, can have a wild pig "problem" )

They have a problem because feral pigs can breed faster than hunters can reload. Until you more than 80% of the population you haven't hindered their reproductive capacity in the least. It took an enormous amount pf hunting and trapping to rid the Channel Islands of feral pigs.
Posted by: Dryer

Re: Hiking France - 07/06/12 08:33 AM

Good answer Old Ranger. Plus, pig is now the most hunted critter...no season, take all you want. But they are are hard to kill, very smart, and we get tired of bbq'd pork after a while.
One of the remedies tried by the Texas Parks pig reduction people was to drop tons of birth control pill laced pig food from airplanes. Didn't work.
Posted by: oldranger

Re: Hiking France - 07/06/12 07:41 PM

The next to last pig killed on santa Rosa Island became known as the "$10,000 pig" - the cost of the helicopter time necessary to finally run him down. It a way it was a shame since he (or she) clearly was a superior animal. The island, however, now is in much better shape with exotics removed.
Posted by: BZH

Re: Hiking France - 07/09/12 12:57 PM

They got rid of all the pigs on the Channel Islands? I saw my first ferrel pig on Santa Cruz (and it wasn't all that long ago... maybe '05)
Posted by: oldranger

Re: Hiking France - 07/10/12 08:40 PM

Both Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa are free and clear of feral pigs.
Posted by: Barefoot Friar

Re: Hiking France - 08/06/12 02:25 PM

We've got 'em really bad here in NW Alabama. Particularly in and around the Sipsey Wilderness.

I don't hunt, but if I did I'd go for them. I want to roast a whole hog someday.