New San Antonio subdivision residents surprised by wild neighbors
SAN ANTONIO — Like many newcomers to the southeast-side of San Antonio, Sean chose a new home in a brand new subdivision because his family likes the idea of being close to nature.
His new neighborhood is adjacent to both Salado Creek and the future home of Arboretum San Antonio .
Still, he said he was surprised to meet some of his new, wild neighbors recently.
"I was leaving the subdivision and very close to the entrance was a bunch of pigs," Sean said.
He says at first it was hard to tell what he was seeing but when he detected movement on the roadway easement, he stopped.
"Then I was able to see from the light from the vehicle that they were actually pigs and there was about 10 to 12 of them. A mom and a bunch of babies," Sean said. "It really made me nervous to be so close to where people live because I know momma, when she's startled they can be extremely dangerous."
Sean said he immediately pulled over and sent a video clip to family members to warn them to be careful.
"I said 'Hey just know there's some pigs around here.'" Sean said, adding the sight surprised him.
"It was extremely surprising to me! Because I know this is farm land and on the rural side. We have a lot of area out here that isn't developed but to see it so close to a populated area really, you know, surprised me," Sean said.
When an image of the herd of feral hogs made it to social media, other neighbors joined in.
One woman who lives about two miles upstream added her own video to the online discussion, which shows one hog rooting around her backyard in broad daylight.
The far-ranging discussion featured comments from people who were concerned about safety and from those who made light-hearted suggestions about coming up with free bacon on the hoof.
While state game laws allow hunting or trapping of what is considered a nuisance animal, city codes prohibit firing guns inside city limits, so harvesting them legally is a challenge.
Outside city limits, officials said hogs may be hunted without a license on private property but a hunting license is required on public property. Hunters must also abide by any local gun laws.
Many speculated on why there seems to be a sudden influx of the wild animals, with long-timers commenting that with so much new construction, there has been a significant loss of habitat in the southeast quadrant of the city.
Precinct 4 County Commissioner Tommy Calvert is well familiar with the challenge. He lives a few miles upstream near a Salado Creek tributary.
"Now that there's new development coming in east Bexar County and east San Antonio, that was natural habitat for a lot of feral hogs," Calvert said.
There are two county parks in the general area, Comanche and Pletz. Calvert said park workers are noticing signs of the animals but they haven't seen much damage yet.
"They are getting pushed out of areas that were forest for a long time," Calvert said. "I haven't personally seen them but my neighbors certainly have and they have seen the dogs attacked and there are concerns obviously, as there should be as they do cause a lot of damage. Around the state of Texas there has been $52 million dollars in property damage by feral hogs."
