How high have you found wild piggies?

[shaginator]

I normally find pig in scrubby oak areas under 2,000 feet in elevation, but on a recent excursion into the mountains near Monterey I noticed some habitat that could also be suitable for pig. Saw some old signs too (ruts, marked trees). This was around 4200 feet in elevation.

I was wondering how many of you guys out there have found pig at these elevations? I would guess that even if there were signs you would probably need to hike down in some canyons to increase your odds. However I could imagine those hogs hiding up higher depending on hunting pressure.

 

[songdog]

I saw one a long way off last week while looking on to Ft. Tejon property.  We were standing around 3000 ft. and the pig was up at the top of a pretty good sized hill above us.  Maybe as much as another 1000 feet.  A lot of Ft. Tejon is in the 5000-6000 foot range.  During the warmer months, I think that they go all the way up there if the habbitat is suitable.

 

[Kernhuntr]

On the pig o rama last weekend, I was on a huge boar late Sat. night. Could'nt get to him before I ran out of light....but my GPS read 4400ft. He was in the snow or at least patches of it. That's as high as I've seen them, although some guys on that ranch kill them higher than I was by a thousand feet or so.

Kernhuntr

 

[Speckmisser]

I've seen wallows and rooting above 5K, and a ton of sign between 3000-4000.  

They're hardy animals, and can probably handle winter cold at reasonably high altitudes... at least as high as any central coast mountains.

Would love to hear an "expert" answer to this one, though.

 

[BoarExpGuide]

I'm a hunting guide along the central coast and I've seen pigs from the tops to the bottoms.  One peak is over 4,000 feet and I usually see pigs up near the peak.  I even see them when it's snowing and even after the snow.  From my experience they don't move much after it snows like some western mule deer do.  They'll just stay put and root through the snow.

 

[RIFLEMAN]

I guide for hogs in Northern California and have found them above 3000-4000 feet.  When hunting them in the snow, I have found that they will stay put or pile up on top of each other and wait it out.  
Considering the fact that these piggies we are chasing are descendants of the Eurasian boar of the Black Forest of Germany and Russia, I think that they are more than capable of handling anything California can dish out to them.  They usually aren't found in the higher elevations and rougher country only because they don't HAVE to be there.  But they can survive (maybe not proliferate) from the Mohave Desert to the Sierras, rest assured.