Wild pigs are tearing up this Bay Area neighborhood

Forget coyotes. Aggressive, insatiable and weighing up to 200 pounds, wild pigs are some of the most dangerous animals residing in the Bay Area. Last year, the giant beasts stalked and charged at a couple of hikers on local trails. This week, they were spotted wrecking havoc at a San Jose office park.

Guy J. Clark, who works in a nearby office, captured several videos of a sounder - a family group - tearing up lawns not far from San Jose's upscale Silver Creek Country Club neighborhood. "All of them were rooting vigorously in the sod between the parking lot and the building next door," Clark said in a message to SFGATE. Later, the pigs had relocated, according to Clark, moving to a sidewalk area and sod flanking Hellyer Avenue.

The area is clearly beloved by the wild pigs.

Most Read

Food | SF restaurant gets angry backlash for AI menu images

News | 5 dead in attempt to save struggling swimmer in Ohio river

News | Teen among dead in devastating Calif. car crash finally identified

Crime | Calif. father, son held biologists studying frogs in 15-hour hostage ordeal

Read our stories ad-free on the new SFGATE app.

Vince Bruzzone, the owner of Full Boar Trapping & Wildlife Control, pointed out that a Google Street View image of the office park from November 2024 shows nearly identical damage. The current situation comes as no surprise to Bruzzone, who said a large population of wild pigs lives in the Silver Creek Valley. Last year, the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority contracted his company for $243,000 to help deal with wild pigs on its land for the next three years. 

The area appears "to be a major corridor for wildlife and unfortunately for the properties there, pigs," said Bruzzone in an email to SFGATE.

"As the hills and stock ponds dry up this time of year, pigs move toward more fertile and resource abundant areas," he said. "Irrigated landscaping is a natural draw as they search for soil-dwelling invertebrates."

According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California has between 200,000 and 400,000 wild pigs - the fourth-largest population in the country. During the 2024-2025 hunting season, 80 wild pigs were harvested, or killed, in Santa Clara County, per CDFW's annual Wild Pig Take Report, 61 fewer than the season before. Statewide, 2,224 pigs were harvested.

Various means have been used to try to rein in the booming numbers. In Monterey County, where 378 wild pigs were killed last season - the most in the state - a number contained electric blue insides, a result of ingesting rodenticide. Bruzzone, who doesn't use poison, said trapping efforts at the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority have been successful and that his company is now working with other agencies in the area.

Wild pigs pose more problems beyond destruction of property. They wipe out water sources like creeks, ponds and streams by stopping flow and creating stagnant pools. E. coli outbreaks have also been traced back to them.

"I also believe that various sounders use the Coyote Creek system for cover and travel, from Hellyer Park to Metcalf Park in the south," said Bruzzone. "To my knowledge, no trapping is occurring on the creek at this time."

Given wild pigs' combative nature, especially when they are protecting their offspring, local wildlife officials urge people to be cautious when encountering one. Hiding behind large objects like rocks and trees, or even climbing a tree, is recommended if a wild pig begins to charge.

More Local

-  A first-of-its-kind Bay Area home sale may change how Californians buy houses

-  It's a 'miracle' that the Bay Area's 100-year-old swimming pool still stands

-  Bay Area mountain summit to open to public after decades off limits

-  The luckiest gas station in San Francisco

Get SFGATE's top stories sent to your inbox by signing up for The Daily newsletter here.

Read this story on sfgate.com