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Whopping wild hog weighing 350 pounds captured off Sarno Road in Melbourne

Rick Neale
Florida Today

A jumbo-sized, black wild hog weighing roughly 350 pounds was captured Friday after it rooted up vegetation in wooded tracts near the Brevard County landfill, off Sarno Road in Melbourne.

"These things can be mean. They can hurt you. A buddy of mine, he had the back of his leg reconstructed. I've had my finger reattached with one of these before," Melbourne wildlife trapper James Dean said, recalling past pig attacks.

"They can be dangerous. We're happy to get this off the road," he said.

In 2012, Dean trapped a monstrous boar topping 400 pounds near Melbourne Greyhound Park that survived two vehicle collisions — both cars were totaled, but the colossal beast simply returned to the forest.

He said Friday's feral hog operation may avert future crashes on Sarno Road.

This 350-pound wild hog was captured Friday off Sarno Road in Melbourne.

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In December, Dean's pig-trapping team apprehended a Palm Bay sow approaching 400 pounds just west of the intersection of Malabar and Minton roads. He speculated that swine had been raised for slaughter and escaped, since the surrounding habitat was limited.

The Sarno Road forests west of Wickham Road are far larger. Dean said he received a call from an undisclosed landowner that was undergoing "some major pig issues." 

"As soon as I started heading down Sarno Road, this gentleman was out near the roadway," Dean said, jabbing his thumb at the caged boar in his truck flatbed.

Dean called for help from fellow trappers, who responded with four-wheelers and hunting dogs. He said they apprehended and tied up the hulking hog within five minutes.

Wild hogs are an invasive species dwelling in all 67 Florida counties, and their large snouts can ransack enough vegetation to leave an area resembling a plowed field, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reports.

The hog was euthanized. Transport of feral swine is subject to Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services licensing regulations.

Neale is the South Brevard watchdog reporter at FLORIDA TODAY.

Contact Neale at 321-242-3638

or rneale@floridatoday.com.

Twitter: @RickNeale1Support local journalism:  Subscribe to FLORIDA TODAY at floridatoday.com/subscribe.