Went up to Mauna Kea early this AM to look for turkeys. Stalked a couple of nice toms but couldn't close the deal. Went way back in, beyond where I've ever gone before, and took a couple of side roads [road is a the word I use to describe a swath cut through the lava and shrubs that will give a stout 4WD a double hernia]. No sign of any humans anywhere. I looked down on a broad valley and saw several water holes, each the size of a backyard swimming pool, formed by depressions in a smooth lava flow at the base of what we'd call an arroyo in California, a streambed that snaked down the steep slope of Mauna Kea. These pools were about 1000 feet below me in elevation, maybe 1/2 a mile away. I used my binoculars to check out the green grass along the sides of the pools and the brown, waist-high grass that extended out about 500 yards in all directions from the water holes. Here is what I found, all within about 500 yards of the water holes, and at 11:00 AM on a sunny day:
17 pigs, none of them close together as you'd find them in herds, but spread apart. I saw one that may have been a youngster of 50 pounds or so and another that was about 100 pounds and probably a sow. All the rest, all 15 of them, were large boars, black as coal and looking for the world like fat black bears. Two of them were fairly close together and at first I though they were steers, they were so large and the upper halves of their bodies were above the brown grass. They were giants!! It only took about 10 seconds to see that they were boars. I watched them for about 30 minutes and they all seemed to be feeding and strolling around independent of one another. I've never seen anything like it. They were all on public property. I could see the fenceline of the Parker Ranch, and the pigs were all on the public side.
Pig season opens up as soon as turkey season ends, which is in a couple of weeks. I'm scooting back there and try for one of those monsters. It will be brutal hauling the meat back up the hillside, because I was at 8000 feet when I scoped them, so it would be a real gut-buster. But I'd like to get a photo of one of those guys. I'll bet anything that both of the large boars were 400+ pounds, maybe more. It's hard to tell from that distance but they looked like bulls. A guy I know who is a reputable hunter and an honest man [Uncle Ji] reported seeing boars on the Hunter Road that appeared to be in excess of 500 pounds. I'm a believer now. There are no predators at all and no hunters at all down where these guys are living. Green grass, roots, berries, and lots of water. How large can a boar get with no limiting factors at all? No idea, but I plan to find out.
Aloha for now. I'm pooped out after hiking all over heck and back looking for turkeys.
17 pigs, none of them close together as you'd find them in herds, but spread apart. I saw one that may have been a youngster of 50 pounds or so and another that was about 100 pounds and probably a sow. All the rest, all 15 of them, were large boars, black as coal and looking for the world like fat black bears. Two of them were fairly close together and at first I though they were steers, they were so large and the upper halves of their bodies were above the brown grass. They were giants!! It only took about 10 seconds to see that they were boars. I watched them for about 30 minutes and they all seemed to be feeding and strolling around independent of one another. I've never seen anything like it. They were all on public property. I could see the fenceline of the Parker Ranch, and the pigs were all on the public side.
Pig season opens up as soon as turkey season ends, which is in a couple of weeks. I'm scooting back there and try for one of those monsters. It will be brutal hauling the meat back up the hillside, because I was at 8000 feet when I scoped them, so it would be a real gut-buster. But I'd like to get a photo of one of those guys. I'll bet anything that both of the large boars were 400+ pounds, maybe more. It's hard to tell from that distance but they looked like bulls. A guy I know who is a reputable hunter and an honest man [Uncle Ji] reported seeing boars on the Hunter Road that appeared to be in excess of 500 pounds. I'm a believer now. There are no predators at all and no hunters at all down where these guys are living. Green grass, roots, berries, and lots of water. How large can a boar get with no limiting factors at all? No idea, but I plan to find out.
Aloha for now. I'm pooped out after hiking all over heck and back looking for turkeys.
