December 15, 2005

Wild boars tear up landscaped yards in Almaden

By Kymberli W. Brady
Staff Writer

Nestled in the hills behind Williams Elementary School lies a series of neatly landscaped Shappell homes—or at least they were, before the wild boar moved in.

Linda and John Salah, who live in the hills behind Williams Elementary School on Hollow Lake Way have been the worst hit by wild boars foraging for worms and grub under resident’s lawns. The pigs have returned to their front yard five times so far.

According to Linda and John Salah, who live on Hollow Lake Way, it’s a new problem, one that is costing them thousands.

“They’re coming from the county park,” she said. “There’s an opening in a busted fence up there, but Vector Control says the boars wouldn’t pound the fenced down if they couldn’t fit through.”

So how did this get to be such a costly problem overnight? Actually, it wasn’t exactly overnight as wild pigs, originally from Eurasia, were introduced to North America in 1593 when De Soto released them in Florida—100 years after Christopher Columbus did the same in the West Indies for hunting and to provide a plentiful food source. Domestic hogs were introduced to California in 1769, followed by the release of wild boar (larger than domesticated pigs) in 1925.

Since then, the prolific animals migrated to at least 23 states and can be found in 56 of California’s 58 counties—due in part to a year round mating season that allows young females [18-months-old] to have up to two 5-12 piglet litters per year. If the conditions, such as food and water are right, the population can double every four months—each with a lifespan of up to 10 years.

Still, approximately 15 of the 150-300 pound animals have made their way to arguably the most favorable of delicacies—the Salah’s front yard. And they don’t just sniff around. A roto-tiller couldn’t be more thorough.

“We’re trying to get the city, county, and state involved in this,” she said. “After all, they are issuing permits to build these homes adjacent to the park, and yet they’re not protecting the residents. We know that wildlife comes with the territory, but at the same time, these wild boars are destroying property—and we’re not talking about knocking over a vase, they have upturned my whole landscape in front of my home. They’ve been back five times. And I’m not the only one.”

The overturned lawns can be found along Hollow Lake Way, Glenview Drive, and even Eagle Cliff Court, a cul-de-sac surrounded by homes.

“They really got the worst of the neighborhood,” said Haryl Pascal, who lives next door. “They got creamed, but many other houses have been hit. I’ve been pretty lucky.”

Or has he? Pascal swears by his rather unconventional method—one that has a radio hooked up to a timer that goes on every night at 10:00 and after a night of talk radio, shuts off every morning at 6:00.

“I give my pigs a good station, KQED,” he said. “They get quality talk!”

He might just have something, and hasn’t been hit once this year.

“If that’s the reason, well that’s great,” he said.

One door down, the Salah’s face an ongoing and exhausting dilemma.

“My house is a mess,” she said. “My neighbor has a bunch of stakes and a makeshift fence. Everyone around us is getting hit and, on top of that, we’ve got four or five coyotes wandering up and down the street at all times of the day,” as she referenced a photo taken by Pascal, showing three coyotes stalking a neighborhood dog from his back yard.

Coyotes too?
“I took that out of my bedroom window at 7:30 one morning,” Pascal said. “They were much closer to the house, but by the time I got to my camera, they were down by my bocce court, looking out over the hillside. My neighbor has a dog that saw them and barked. They took off after it and tried to get over the fence, and then dig under it—they were aggressively going for that dog.

Three healthy coyotes stalk a neighborhood dog from Haryl Pascal’s back yard in broad daylight. He admits that the coyotes don’t bother him much; wild boars on the other hand, could set him back thousands of dollars down the road.

It wouldn’t be the first dog to fall victim to coyotes. According to Pascal, there wasn’t much left of the dog at the corner of Quail Crest and Hollow Lake after it got out one morning.

“They later found the skin and the head up the street,” he said.

Pascal admits that without children or pets, the coyotes don’t bother him much; pigs on the other hand, could set him back thousands of dollars down the road.

Although she is aware of the problem, Councilwoman Nancy Pyle says it has unfortunately taken a back seat to more pressing City Hall issues.

“We’ve been a little busy,” she says, following the marathon hearing to censure the Mayor on Tuesday. “A million other things have taken first place, but this does not make the other less important. You know they can get a hunter, why don’t they do that?”

Apparently, it’s not that simple. According to Francis Grammer, with Councilman Forrest Williams’ office, professional hunting is not allowed on county or city land.

“Hunting professionally is not allowed on county or city land,” she said. “It is illegal to discharge a firearm in San Jose –and it’s illegal to bow hunt them as well—or use any kind of projectile weapon.”

The problem is not exclusive to Almaden either, as evident by the 100 or more residents who attended a Dec. 12 community meeting at the Southside Community and Senior Center on Cottle Road in an effort to educate homeowners on how to deal with wild boar problems that have plagued the Evergreen district and destroyed more than 30 lawns.

On hand were various animal control and wildlife experts from both the city and the county, including Jim O’Connor, Santa Clara County Manager of Park Maintenance Operations, Frances Grammer, Rachael Gibson, aide to County Supervisor Don Gage, Jon Cicirelli, San Jose Deputy Director, and John Nores, with the department of fish and Game.

“Apparently, with all of them, the message was about what the people can do,” said Salah. “They’re trying to say if you put fences around your house and these insect things for your grub you can keep them from coming to your house.”

The room heated up when questions arose as to why the county won’t allow hunters, many of whom would gladly resolve the boar issue for free. Citing liability issues that prevented them from taking action, the onus was put back on the homeowners to do it themselves.

“That’s when a bunch of us said, ‘what do you mean we do it?” said Salah. “What happened to you guys?’ I understand you need to have expertise to get them and they’re supposed to have that expertise. I’m okay with them doing it.”

In short, Salah said all they did was cry the blues.

“They said, ‘we got no money, we got no budget, we got no people, we go no resources, we got nothing.’ They weren’t telling us what they can do; they were telling us what they can’t do and that it was basically our problem. Everyone was frustrated.”

Ultimately, Councilman Williams recommended that everyone put their heads together and work out a plan that would not only help the problem, but make it sustainable. Although no target date was set, they were told it would be next year at best.

In one night, the damage done by wild boars to one yard could easily reach $5,000 or more.

Salah says she was discouraged by what little progress was made and knows that the wheels of bureaucracy are not going to turn quick enough.

“I understand that,” she said. “I didn’t expect anything until after the New Year anyway.”

Although trapping is admittedly an expensive venture, Grammer says the county has given the go ahead to start trapping at points within Santa Teresa Park, while Williams’ office has decided to focus more on education by producing and handing out brochures to residents.

”We will be detailing certain aspects like not watering your lawn late at night, or watering it less,” she said. “How to apply an insecticide or nematode to your lawn to reduce the grub, putting up permanent or semi-permanent fencing during the high season of the pigs, and to make sure children stay away from them—basic information to the residents about how to reduce their own risk.”

Grammer added that fencing the entire park would cost an estimated $60,000 to $90,000 and once completed, would only open the door to the need to fence all the other parks.

“This isn’t just an Almaden or Santa Teresa problem. This is a county problem, a California problem, even a nationwide one,” she said.

Answers now just a click away
On a more proactive front, The Friends of Santa Teresa Park, a volunteer organization formed to support Santa Teresa County Park has taken the initiative to launch an informative website [http://www.stpfriends.org/Pigs/STPPigs.htm], which includes photos, remedies, and links to agencies that deal with wild boar issues. The site offers historical information and suggested deterrents for those already facing thousands of dollars in re-landscaping fees.

John Salah says the estimates to repair his landscape could run upwards of $5,000.

“And that’s if there’s no pipe damage,” he added dejectedly. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”