Feral hogs in central Mississippi: Home range, habitat use and survival

I examined home range, habitat use, and survival of 29 feral hogs in central Mississippi using radio telemetry. During the dry season (1 April - 31 October 2005), densely-vegetated habitats were very important in home range placement (2nd-order selection) with selection favoring seasonally-flooded old fields, followed by old fields and managed openings. During the wet season (1 November 2005 - 31 March 2006), old fields were still preferred followed by agricultural fields, but flooded old fields were not preferred. For habitat selection within the home range (3rd-order selection), hogs preferred old fields and managed openings during the dry season. All habitats were used randomly within home ranges during the wet season. Dry and wet season survival rates were 80.8% and 41.4%, respectively. Hunting was the major cause of mortality (80--100%). Seasonal differences in habitat selection may have been caused by flooding of preferred habitats, food availability and hunting.