Hardy pigs cope as drought takes hold
I’ve experienced three cycles of drought and flood in South West Queensland. This was the worst so far. Rob owns a property up the road from our usual hunting area and has spent his life in the region. He claims he’s never seen things as bad as the drought of 2018.
Under the mulga, gidgee, eucalypts and woody weeds there was no ground cover, just red dust and stony gravel. What the kangaroos were nibbling, hunched over in the morning light, I had no idea. Goats are adaptable and can change their taste from the preferred to the essential to sustain life. Pigs can dig for roots under the remains of clumps of grass, forage for termites, seek out reptiles or chew on the carcasses of animals that have succumbed to the big dry.
This story is about two pigs and the lessons they taught. The main character is my Winchester Model 70 Featherweight in .270 topped with a Leupold 3-9x scope. It’s a good general purpose outfit, covering most situations but not specialising on any in particular.
Working along the top of the braided channels of the river system, I spied a recent wet patch on a game trail. I guessed it was a pig from the location and tracks.
