Indiana conservation officers are investigating a report of two feral hogs near U.S. Highway 20 and County Road 12 in Middlebury, in Elkhart County. According to witnesses, at approximately 5:15 p.m. Feb. 16 a woman came home to find there was a pig in her yard.  As she went to enter her house, the pig came toward her.

She contacted her brother, who arrived to find two feral hogs with approximately three-inch tusks and looking very shaggy. The brother contacted Conservation Officer Seth Owens and was told feral hogs are nuisance animals and can be destroyed by the landowner.

Both feral hogs were destroyed. Owens commented finding the hogs was not a normal situation, and more information is available on the Department of Natural Resource (DNR) website about feral hogs. Conservation officers are requesting any sightings of feral hogs be reported to the DNR.

“Wild hogs,” also called “wild pigs,” “wild boar” or “feral pigs,” are among the many names referring to non-native swine and various hybrids illegally released or domestic pigs allowed to become feral. The animals are now found in 44 states, including Indiana.

Wild hogs include domestic hogs acclimated to living in a wild or free-roaming environment; born in the wild; free-roaming without any visible tags, markings or having behavioral characteristics indicating a domestic state or private ownership; or having skeletal characteristics indicative of a wild or Eurasian origin as defined in 312 IAC 9-3-18.6 of the Indiana Administrative Code.

Wild hogs are more commonly encountered in southern Indiana, with the town of Lynnville in Warrick County reporting wild hogs in the area for several years.

Can a person legally kill a wild hog in Indiana? A landowner, tenant or other person with written permission from the landowner can shoot or trap a wild hog on the landowner’s private property without a permit. Be sure to check local ordinances before using a firearm.

If trapped, a wild hog must be killed at the trap site or euthanized immediately after moving it from the trap site. However, killing wild hogs cannot be offered for compensation of any kind for hunting or taking purposes, and cannot be released into the wild.

A person cannot charge a service fee for shooting, trapping or removing a wild hog from private property unless the person contracted has a nuisance wild animal control permit from the Division of Fish and Wildlife.

The guide to Indiana’s best values in outdoor recreation is now available. The DNR’s 2012 Indiana Recreation Guide is every Hoosier’s source for information on state parks, reservoirs, state park inns, fish and wildlife areas, state forests, state historic sites and other DNR properties.

The guide is available free online at www.in.gov/dnr (look for a link to it under “Quick Links”). Local retail outlets and, of course, state parks, reservoirs and other DNR properties also have free print copies available.

Annual entrance passes for state parks and reservoirs can be purchased in person at the gatehouses or property offices during business hours, at the Indiana Government Center South in Indianapolis or at www.innsgifts.com

Conservation officers announced three Indiana Hunter Education courses will be open to the public in March.

Wesselman Woods Nature Center in Evansville is sponsoring a course to take place on March 10-11 from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. both days. Refreshments will not be provided.

The second class, sponsored by the Black Hawk Bow Hunters Club, located on south Yankeetown Road in Warrick County, will be on the same dates. The times for the class will be from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. each day. Refreshments are available.

The third class, sponsored by Bucks and Jakes, located west of Boonville on State Road 62, will take place March 17-18 from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. both days. Refreshments will not be provided.

Anyone born after Dec. 31, 1986, is required to take the course before purchasing an Indiana hunting license. All three classes will be geared toward youth, but all ages are welcome. Please bring pens and pencils. Pre-registration by calling 812-789-9538 is required.

Facebook followers of the Indiana DNR may “talk” online with different people from the department once a month during a new program which started Feb. 9.

The “Talk to an Expert” series features DNR experts on scheduled topics for one hour a month on the DNR Facebook page. Topics and experts will change every 3-4 weeks. The series is an opportunity to ask DNR personnel questions.

Individuals who don’t have a specific question will have the chance to “listen in” and learn from others or clear up misconceptions.

The next subject is “Talk to a Birding Expert,” scheduled for March 14 from 11 a.m.-noon. The expert on hand is Division of Fish and Wildlife non-game bird biologist John S. Castrale. He will be discussing and fielding questions on non-game birds.

Future topics and instructions on how to join a conversation on Facebook and commenting guidelines are posted at www.in.gov/dnr/7315.htm

To join in the chats, go to the DNR’s Facebook wall at www.facebook.com/ INdnr and click “like” (if you are not already a “friend”). You may begin typing in questions during the hour and the DNR experts will answer as time allows.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Jack Spaulding may contact him by e-mail at jackspaulding@hughes.net or by writing to him in care of this publication.