Trophy Boar Hog killed by black Bear!

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Over the last 35 plus years of stomping around in the woods I have seen a lot of interesting and incredible things but what I ran across while scouting for turkeys last Thursday ranks right up at the top of the list.

I had knocked off work early to head over to the hunting club to locate some gobblers for opening weekend. I had covered a portion of the road system looking for sign and it was about fly-up time so I stopped at a couple likely spots to owl and listen for a gobble. However, it was overcast and not ideal conditions to hear a bird on the roost. Since there was still a lot of road to cover I decided to push ahead and keep tracking in the dark. Probably not to many people scout for turkey sign at night and it sounds a little strange but tracking the roads for strut and track sign is without a doubt the best and fastest method for locating as many gobblers in the shortest amount of time there is. I have located a many a gobbler in the headlights of my truck.

I was actually on my way out of the woods, tracking a long sandy stretch of road that separates a creek drainage from a high sandy hill. The woods along the creek are super thick and almost impenetrable with palmettos over your head, ty-ty’s and bay heads. I have been on two or three crippled deer tracks into this hell hole and it is about as rough as it gets.

As I was easing down the road I noticed something black lying half in the road. As I got closer I realized it was a hog and it was not getting up. Not just any hog either, a brute of a hog! Probably 275-300 lbs.. He had been dead about 24-48 hours and the buzzard sign had stomped out all other sign for 30 yds either side of the carcass.

Of course I was curious as to what had killed him and why he was in the road. I looked him over a little and as best I could tell he appeared to be killed by a black bear! His head and neck were ripped up with deep claw marks. Part of his neck and shoulder and a ham had been eaten. The claw marks to the top of his forehead were all the way to the bone. Unfortunately for the hog his teeth had grown at an odd angle that did not allow them to wear against his top teeth and keep them sharp. He was actually pretty defenseless.

Here are some pictures of his body and some of his wounds. 

It was pretty amazing to find something like this but even more incredible was the teeth on this old boar. I have not measured them yet but they are the largest I have ever seen in person. The cutter on the right side actually grows back into his mouth and down into his gum. Its so deeply embedded I cannot find the end  of it. I am going to boil and clean his skull and  I’ll post some pictures when its done.

There is no way to know for sure if this same bear is responsible but two deer dogs have been kill by a bear in the club in the last two years. That is pretty unusual it self.

Another interesting point about the hog is how old he was and how he managed to survive so long with all the hunting pressure there. A big boar hog can be even harder to kill than a trophy buck and even more nocturnal. This hogs front and jaw teeth were just about worn to the gum line. As far as I know, no one ever laid eyes on this old brute, amazing.

Just another day in the woods!

Larry

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post script:N
This is a follow up post to this story. I decided to clean the skull on this beast as he had such an amazing set of teeth. What I found was nothing short of incredible!

This boars right lower cutter curved back into his gum and actually grew right thru the middle of his jaw bone and was rubbing his tongue! There was cartilage built up around the tooth's entrance and exit as though it was a normal tooth. I don't know how he survived, Surely he developed an infection from the penetration of the bone. Anyone that thinks a hog is not one tough critter dot know much about them. What a survivor this brute was.

Absolutely unbelievable! I've never seen anything like it. Have a look at this.

Notice the mass, unusual bone formations below and behind the penetration and the amount of ware on the teeth compared to the jaw on the right from a boar I took that weighed about 175#.

L.S.