KATY MAGAZINE NEW
November 15, 2021
By Natalie Cook Clark
Feral hogs continue to be a local problem in Katy specifically Cinco Ranch and now Harris County in newer developments north of I-10. A Katy woman and her dog were attacked while walking in George Bush Park.
Photo credit: Ryan Morone
A Katy Dog Attacked While on a Walk
Many wild animals call Katy home, and they frequently get close to residents and their property. Feral hogs continue to cause damage across the Katy area. While their aggression is rare, it can happen, and a Katy woman credits her dog for saving her life when they encountered one on a walk.
“I live in Nottingham Country and I typically enter George Bush Park via the trail head at Mason Creek,” says Robyn Lancaster.
She admits that she’s heard about the hogs being in the area but doesn’t believe her neighborhood has experienced any excessive damage.
At around 4:55 p.m. on November 5, Lancaster and her dog were approached by a feral hog while on an active walking trail.
The hog didn’t hesitate to come straight for them, and her dog was attacked when he was in front of her. They managed to run away from their encounter, and she took her dog to a local vet.
Katy Magazine has the video of the veterinarian treating the dog but are not publishing it due to the graphic nature.
Pieces of Tusk Pulled Out of Dog
“That’s a chunk of wild boar,” says the vet on the video. “We pulled a chunk of tusk out of her chin.”
Lancaster’s dog has made a full recovery, but she wants residents to know that these hogs can be aggressive.
“They are very destructive,” says Wendy Duncan, President of the Board of Directors at Willow Fork Drainage District.
Hog damage in Cinco Ranch. Photo credit: Ryan Morone
“While aggression is rare, we know it can happen,” says Duncan. “This is happening all across Texas and a woman was killed while out for a walk last year in East Texas.”
Hog are in George Bush Park, Barker Reservoir
Feral hogs are known to come out from George Bush Park (where Landcaster and her dog ran into one) and the Barker Reservoir and enter Katy neighborhoods like Cinco Ranch, Kelliwood, and more. The soccer fields in the park and the golf course at Willow Fork Country Club have both experienced excessive damages.
The damage and encounters became such a problem last year that Cinco Ranch residents worked together to solve the problem.
Cinco Ranch resident Ryan Morone took the charge and continues to follow the ongoing feral hog problem in the Katy area. Last year he and other residents brought in a professional trapper to address the issue.
Enclosed traps are set up at approved locations with corn for bait. The WFDD helped by giving permission to trap on their property and Fort Bend County Precinct 3 coordinated the process to get the county’s permission to trap on county land.
“I was amazed at all that was involved in trapping the hogs,” says Morone. “These animals are smart.”
Morone says that they knew a large group of feral hogs had migrated from George Bush Park last year to a smaller patch of land in Cinco Ranch. The trapper worked with residents to track sightings and set up traps. For the first week they didn’t trap anything.
“Once we found their sanctuary it was doable to catch them,” says Morone.
Each feral hog sow is capable of two-to-three litters a year with each litter resulting in around 12 offspring. They can breed all year, which means they can multiple quickly.
60-70 Hogs Trapped in Cinco Ranch
“We caught all 60-70 of them that were residing in Cinco Ranch last year,” says Morone. Since then the problem has seemed to go away for that area.
“They are smart,” says Duncan. “The hogs in George Bush Park will not move back there because know they will be caught, but eventually they will go back.”
Feral hogs are now being seen in newer Katy developments north of I-10 such as Elyson.
Feral Hogs Spotted in Elyson
Melanie Krugel’s husband and dog encountered a group of feral hogs crossing a residential street in Elyson. They can be seen going into a resident’s yard. Fortunately, they were not approached by the hogs and stayed back while taking the video.
Long-term solutions were discussed in the Cinco Ranch area, but nothing was set up as far as addressing this ongoing issue.
Duncan believes that this is a HOA issue and that residents should report feral hog problems to their HOAs.
“It’s probably a matter of time before we start seeing them again in Cinco Ranch,” says Morone.