Finally a whistle pig

For many years (my whole life) we have exterminated wood chucks as necessary, probably 4-5 a year between three homesteads.. I have heard a few people call them "whistle pigs". Never could understand why.

Either the shotgun or dogs got to them pretty quick. A few occasions the dogs would corner one and the woodchuck would start chattering its teeth, like a clicking sound.

Tonight, the dogs got one under a couple of pallets that the firewood sits on. Dogs going crazy, as I walk over, I thought they had some kind of song bird or something under there, until I looked under and met a woodchuck face to face.

So finally after 42 years, now I know why they are called whistle pigs.

Ok, I am ready for for you to start laughing at me....

First time whistle pig observer, long time woodchuck exterminator.

Here is an action shot or two, the dogs are Mountain Feist Terriers. Pound for pound they are very efficient on trespassers. The one with brown is a pup still filling out a little.

Rick
Mt. Feists in action

I always thought around here they called them whistle pigs because if you whistle, they stand up out of their hole and you can put one in their head.

I haven't intentionally killed one in years, but they have holes everywhere. The last time I killed them, I used a backhoe. I just put teh bucket into the ground, tore up the hole until I found the nest and smashed them all. I went around and got 30-35 acres cleared of all groundhogs in a single day.

Yes John ,


If you whistle a shrill short sound they stand up ,
because it is looking for the danger . that is their
signal to alert other groundhogs. The chatter type sounding whistles are communication between cononly members
here is a recording of both types.

Don't feel too bad, I have heard the term "whistle pig" but didn't know it was a woodchuck, so I guess we both learned something tonight. Now, speaking of the Feist dogs, we generally had two dogs when I was growing up, and most of the time they were mixed breed with Feist in the bloodline. Not very large, but they would go after anything. Great squirrel and rabbit dogs, kill rats and moles like crazy, and to watch two of them gang up on a copperhead snake was a real show. They are great little animals.

Oh wow! I hear that all teh time and just thought it was the dang birds! I think I will record that video, then blast it through my shure 57 with peavey amp and see how many I see standing out of their holes. It might be a great time to own a semi automatic weapon!

Absolutely right. When we hunted them out around the edges of the soybean fields we'd whistle to get a clear shot.

A friend just said about the same thing, he has 2 juvenile ones in his small back yard, under the landlords wood pile, they come out and squeak, or whistle.

For many years I would shoot them on sight, horses and holes don't mix, and maybe I was just as heartless then, because it never really bothered me. I've always preferred a firearm, as a quick, humane method of killing them, same as when I hunt.

That is until this guy showed up:




Soon after my rhodesian ridge back died, I met this guy in a tree, face to face, the tree where that dog, whom to me was the best, is buried. We met eye to eye, he knew I could get him, and I just let it be, sometimes you just get sick of having to kill every darned pest or potential pest around your home or barns, maybe more so if you try and be fair to them, just as you would want to be treated, well maybe if you have a conscience.

In more recent times, they really have to tick me off, and I go back to dispatching them without hesitation. In reality from what I have seen, and aside from holes in pastures, dirt and rock mounds in hay fields, they mostly are not a problem and around here, they prefer natural forage, but will explore and test some things you may have planted, flowers, maybe young vegetable plants, but ironically, I watch them in my corn, and in the garden in the past, they really seem to avoid most plants, unless you have supple greens or something. Now its been dry too, so anything you nurture, will be on the menu, get enough rain, plenty of lush natural green for em. I had one in the cross hairs the other day, touch that corn = dispatch, he did not, he was eating that reddish stem weed that we can actually eat, then another one came out, they were playing, funny to watch.

The one above was something, he acted like my dog came back as him, never any real trouble, climb up on your lap, he liked a certain bread, he was here for 8 years and was as faithful as my dog was, you could literally set your watch by him as to when he would show up, standing and looking at the front door. There is a lot more to them, shame that they can be pests though.

Yesterday I noticed some signs of them, testing a couple of potted vegetables which I like to do so I can bring em in late season. I am overrun with them currently, which has never really been the case, each hole got a dose of high test and a lid, kind of bothers me, kinda wish they would just live a little further away, darned things LOL !!!! One or 2 of them are under the porch at different time, they actually use several holes and or an old network in the middle of the old field next to the house, I've had them there on off under the porch for years, like the one above, 'cept they been doing some mining, gravel and rock piles, darned things sure can move some dirt, so I'll have to reduce the population, funny how they just show up in numbers one year.

They will stand up and "whistle" at the entrance to their hole when they see danger and immediately dive in their hole.
Boy, that brings back memories; guys used to ride the roads around here in the early evenings blasting the critters. The farmers (hardly any left) didn"t mind since they are a real nuisance.
My brother shot over 300 in one summer using nothing but a 22. I swear, whether you shot them or not, the population remained about the same; just enuf so they had their own piece of ground.
I used to hunt them all the time when I was a kid with my Dad"s 22WRF. One time I purposely pulled onto the shoulder to hit one with my car and I felt bad for killing it that way. Still can"t figure that out! Dead is dead, ain"t it?
We had no woodchucks for 7 or eight years because of the coyotes. They are on their way back as are the rabbits since the population of coyotes is down. We have a local guy who kills coyotes like we used to kill woodchucks and he has definitely put a dent in the local population.

The coyotes are sometimes thick around here, then I don't hear them, you would think they would prey on these woodchucks, surprised at how the population seems to have increased this year.

Yesterday morning around 8AM, I spotted a wood chuck in a tree near one garden patch, he was halfway up and out on a limb/branch so far I could believe it, branch did not look like it would hold, he was 6 feet above my head, so maybe 12 feet up, I know they can climb, aside from being a pest, they sure do some things you would never expect. I have photos, not uploaded yet though.

I just saw a news article, a wood chuck was taking flags down at an old civil war era cemetery, south of here, cops investigated, figured it out by placing cameras and used another camera to investigate the woodchuck hole, bits and pieces of flags, they first suspected kids, but that woodchuck eliminated that theory.

I never have too much trouble with them. But I did have one living in my retaining wall flower garden, right near where we park the cars.

I came home one day and was walking past him - he was outside his hole, hidding under some flowers.

As I walked by, I was kind curious how close I could get before he dove back in. Wondered if maybe I could surprise him, so I walked quietly.

... coffee in hand.

When I walked right by him - about three feet away (and he's up three feet on the wall)- I was staring right at him waiting for him to jump into his hole.

Instead - he hissed REAL Loud and Dove RIGHT AT ME.

Scare the living )(#*$#)(* out of me! I jumped a mile. Spilled hot coffee all over my hand.

He stopped short, right at the edge of the wall, then turned and ran to his hole.

He showed me.

Once I regained my composure I had the urge to kick him across the yard (though I really wouldn't have) but he was already gone.

Instead I just continued to the house - cheeks a little redder, wondering if the neighbors, or my wife saw me getting put in my place by a woodchuck.

he wasn't even all that big.

Back in the 60s & 70s, you never got turned away when you asked a farmer if you could go ground hog hunting on his land. if you had a colony of ground hogs and shot one the rest would start to whistle and then disappear. Farm Bureau had a bounty of 25 cents a tail then. Made money several summers in a row.

Don't want to steal your post. A friend has a whistle pig in a sub-division, where a gun won't work. I have an animal trap that is big enough to catch a dog. What do they like to eat?
George

Any kind of supple greens, I see them chow bananas, some like bread, they're a little different when it comes to food provided by us, some really like a nice sweet ripe or a little over ripe banana, as well as a variety of greens.

Unfortunately for 3 yesterday, a good dose of 93 octane gasoline and a lid on the hole, no sign of movement today, just too many, hate doing things like that, even though it needs to be done, bugs the heck out of me to be so rotten to a critter like that.

Now, just wait until those dogs figure out they can go down in a tunnel after the hogs. Then you will have a mess on your hands.

We have jack russells and they are bred to go below ground after fox, badger, groundhogs, raccoon and opossum. We use locator collars because some of the dogs will hold them below ground until you dig them out.