Harvest for both animals were slightly better than 2017
Wild hogs and coyotes are both nuisance animals, and neither are native to South Carolina. They both have a negative impact on hunting and on game land in general. The state has very liberal hunting regulations regarding both species, and hunters are encouraged to kill as many as possible.
SCDNR’s 2018 annual Deer Hunter Survey, which gives the agency a good estimate of number of deer killed, they also asked hunters for harvest information on wild hogs and coyotes. While the number isn’t exact, SCDNR officials are satisfied it is the best estimate they can come up with.
During the 2018 deer hunting season, hunters in South Carolina killed an estimated 39,347 wild hogs. This showed a 4-percent increase over 2017. Hogs were killed in all 46 counties of the state during the 2018 deer hunting season.
Berkeley County hunters led the way in total hogs killed
Berkeley County hunters killed more than those in any other county, with 3033 total hogs killed. Allendale County was second with 2381 hogs killed. Hampton County was third with 2281 killed. Sumter County was fourth with 1880, and Abbeville County was fifth with 1479.
Allendale County topped the per-square-mile list
In terms of hogs killed per square mile, Allendale County topped the list with 7.04 hogs per square mile. Hampton County was second with 4.5 hogs per square mile. Calhoun County was third with 4.4 hogs per square mile, Anderson County was fourth with 4.25 per square mile, and Abbeville County was fifth with 4.24 per square mile.
Hogs have been around the Carolinas since the 1700s, when domestic hogs were released by Spanish explorers. Also, fencing laws are fairly recent, having been put in place in the early 1900s. Before that, many hog farms operated as “free range” farms, and some of those animals undoubtedly wandered away from farms and took up in the wild.
Coyotes were also killed in all 46 counties during 2018
Coyotes, on the other hand, are a much more recent addition to the landscape here. The first documented cases of coyotes in South Carolina were in Oconee and Pickens Counties in 1978. Since then, the coyote population has expanded immensely.
Hunters killed coyotes in all 46 counties during the 2018 deer hunting season, for a total of 22,731. This is a slight increase over 2017’s numbers (22,441). Statewide, it is estimated that hunters harvested 1 coyote per square mile.
Aiken County was the top county for coyote harvests with 1353. Anderson County took second place with 1178 coyotes killed, followed by Williamsburg County’s 1002 for third place. Hunters in Spartanburg County killed 852. Three other counties tied for fifth with 827 coyotes apiece.
Per square mile, hunters killed the most coyotes in Anderson County (3.4/square mile). Abbeville County was second with 2.3 per square mile. Spartanburg County hunters killed the third most at 2 per square mile. Edgefield County was fourth with 1.8 per square mile, and Aiken County hunters killed 1.7 per square mile for fifth most in the state.
Click here for the full rundown of all counties in the SCDNR’s 2018 S.C. Deer Harvest Report.
Click here to find out where all the coyotes came from.
