 [Daily Mail, where America gets its news]… and killing more people than sharks: 'I'd rather get eaten by an alligator'
An invasion of wild beasts is wreaking havoc across America - and shocking figures reveal they are killing more people than sharks.
Officials up and down the country are warning of a 'feral swine bomb' due to an explosion in the population of wild hogs, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported.
Wild hogs, an invasive species of pig first brought to Florida by Spanish settlers in the 1500s, have now been seen in at least 35 states and are destroying farmers' crops, tearing up gardens and, in some cases, even attacking humans.
One longtime animal trapper, Craig Greene, recalled a terrifying encounter with the wild pigs in 2008. He described hiding in his own three-feet tall cage, knowing there was no one nearby to save him, until they eventually ran off and he could escape.
'I know when they kill you, they'll eat you while you're screaming,' he said. 'I'd rather get eaten by an alligator.'
Wild pig attacks are relatively rare - but they still outnumber all species of shark attacks combined, research showed.
Between 2014 and 2023, there was an average of 5.8 fatal shark attacks worldwide compared to 19.7 wild pig attacks, AgWeb reported.
In 2024 alone, there have already been seven deaths globally from wild pig incidents, the outlet added - and revealed the number of humans killed had climbed steadily from 2000 to 2019 to a total of 172 deaths.
Dr. John Mayer, a research scientist and manager at the Savannah River National Laboratory in South Carolina, told AgWeb: 'Tigers, Indian elephants, Nile crocodiles, and venomous snakes kill more people than wild pigs, but wild pigs are certainly worse than bears, wolves, and all shark species put together.
'Wild pigs are nowhere near the worst of the worst, but they’re far more dangerous than people believe,' he added, describing the vicious 'stab-and-slash' wounds inflicted by boars.
In 2019 a Texas caregiver, 59, was mauled to death by a pack of wild hogs while outside the home of the elderly couple she looks after, before being partially eaten.
And the potential for dangerous encounters between pigs and humans is set to increase as the land animals used to have free reign on is developed.
Pigs now exist in all 67 Florida counties and wreak the most havoc in inland areas in the middle of the state.
'They've been here for 200 years and now everywhere they go they're getting pushed out,' Greene told Sun Sentinel. 'They're doing so much major construction. So now pigs are showing up in people's yards because the gated development is butted right up against a preserve.'
Greene added that people frequently call him to help them deal with rowdy pigs.
'I've had phone calls like, "Oh my God, I'm in my car right now, this pig is slamming his head up against my truck,''' Greene said. '''Come help me.'''
Many Americans are also concerned about the danger the hogs pose to agriculture.
Pigs roll around in the dirt on farms to cool themselves off and often root around for food and eat crops, causing billions of dollars worth of losses to farmers every year.
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