Florida carries one of the largest feral hog populations of any state, an estimated 500,000 or more animals causing significant damage to native habitat through their rooting and wallowing, and NatureServe classifies the species as exotic here (SNA) rather than assigning a conservation rank. Its 2,048 records span 61 counties, led by Brevard, Polk, and Sarasota. Merritt Island and Canaveral on the Atlantic coast connect with Paynes Prairie inland and a smaller Apalachicola National Forest cluster in the Panhandle.
Records run through every month and peak in January and March, dipping by more than half through late summer. Feral hogs breed year-round and don’t hibernate, so that swing more likely tracks active control and monitoring efforts than any real seasonal change in how many hogs are on the landscape.
Full species profile
