Part III: Conservation and Management326
Historical records indicate that feral pigs in Australia today
are largely derived from European and Asian domestic pigs
(e.g. Pullar 1953; Letts 1962). Genetic surveys suggest that feral
pig populations in the states of New South Wales and Western
Australia are dominated by solely European ancestry, whereas
Asian gene sequences are common in the northern state of
Queensland (Gongora et al. 2004; Lopez et al. 2014). Intriguingly,
Japanese Ryukyu wild boar ancestry has been found in some
pigs from far north Queensland (Gongora et al. 2004).Despite their domestic origins, feral pig phenotypes tend to
resemble Eurasian wild boar, being leaner than domestic breeds
and having larger shoulders, snouts, and tusks (Figures 30.2, 30.3,
30.6, 30.7). However, there is often substantial variation among
populations, and domestic stock continues to be introduced into
the wild (e.g. Hampton et al. 2005). Contiguous or neighbouring
populations in some areas can have different origins and little cross-
breeding, indicating multiple sources of introduction and little
movement between populations (Lopez et al. 2014). Conversely,Figure 30.1 Distribution and relative abundance of feral pigs across Australian states and onshore territories estimated by four studies between 1947 and 2008
(adapted from (a) Pullar 1953; (b) Tisdell 1982; (c) Wilson et al. 1992; (d) West 2008)..03212:55:46