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On a recent camping trip North of Payson, I encountered very large and large groups of javelina. I have heard they are as far North as Pine. They posed no problem and I was within 15 feet of them (sitting on the ground) and watched them eat acorns around me.

About three years ago I was hiking on Milk Ranch Mountain (near pine, on the rim) and came across a group of about 8. I was walking down a wide path and they were coming the other way. They detoured as soon as they became aware of me.

In response to Nighthiker's reply:

I used to see them at my parents place near Prescott on the time. They are blind as a bat!

I saw one just the other day as well - in the NE valley. I have probably seen close to a hundred between hiking trips here and in Texas. I think the reports that suggest they are dangerous are exaggerated (like most animals with that reputation) - I have been close to many and they either ignored me or fled.

I have seen them further north than Pine, once above the rim between Pine and Winslow. I have heard they do not range over 6000 feet in elevation but that same sighting put that in doubt for me.

In response to flechenbones' reply: We have had them on our property in Happy Jack near Mack's Crossing which is at 6800 ft. We have alot of them in the yard at Payson. They come through on Sunday night and knock over the trash cans that the people set out early for the pick up on Monday. (we wait till Monday morning).

Uhh ... having seen the damage a javelina can do, I suggest you NOT underestimate the danger. They are one animal I give a wide, wide, wide berth ... I've seen first hand what a javelina can do, and I don't particularly desire to be on the receiving end of those teeth myself.

Leva

I have run into several small groups of them in thunderbird park in glendale.

They seemed to be easily spooked and never presented a threat.

I have ran across small packs of javelina a time or two around the Prescott area. And they scatter into the four winds when they discover I am coming down the trail toward them. Thus far, the only damage I am aware in our area, is the growth of folks/homes infringing into the surrounding forest and the javelinas sampling new garden variety of food.

However, I understand they can have a nasty temperament, as with any critter, when cornered, harassed by say dogs, and in general feeling it needs to defend it self.

Reminds me of what olesma wrote in a prior string:
http://hikearizona.com/dex2/viewtopic.p ... rt=0#15094

I would say that the Javelina's range is pretty far north. I've encountered a few of them at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

At our cabin in Heber, there are a number of javelina. The stupid people who live in cabins near us feed them and leave out water for them. You know what that means. It is not like those annoying squirrels in Grand Canyon who jump on your head trying to steal your trail mix. These javelinas come right up to people's decks, and they will attack, unprovoked. I saw a male charging and charging the post of our friends' deck trying to get at their dog. My husband has had javelina chase him and our dogs back to our house and also charge our deck. Thank goodness they do not climb stairs. You can yell at them and they will just stand there looking at you. They will take a bite out of your legs or your dog's without a second thought, and you cannot trust their behavior. Once javelina lose their fear of humans, watch out. This is what feeding them will do. And it is hard to tell which ones are dangerous until they are charging you. We ended up having to build a fence behind our cabin because of the javelina to keep our dogs safe. We carry pepper spray when we hike around the cabin area now, but I don't know if it works on javelina. I hope I don't have to find out.

Diane Tuccillo wrote:The stupid people...

OMG, I hope the stupid people don't have internet


I've only encounted one pack/group or what ever Snick tells me is proper these days. I didn't know to be scared or anything of the sort. I whipped out my camera as fast as I could. They scurried so fast I didn't get much of anything. It's posted somewhere in the South Mountain pics. Goat Hill I think.

In response to Diane Tuccillo's reply:

Hey Diane, can I make a suggestion and you may have tried already, but have you notified the Arizona Game and Fish:

http://www.gf.state.az.us/

or the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest:

http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/asnf/

and report these "stupid people", as well as, air your concerns about the javelinas. They may be able to assit by giving the folks a citation and capturing the Javelinas.

I don't know if this would help, but might be worth a try.

I have javelina run by my house on a daily basis. These 4 are HUGE....they have become accustomed to people feeding them and they are not in the least bit shy. Many times I have come into contact with them right out my front door. I have to go out first and check to see if they are around before I let my dogs out. They WILL tear a dog to shreads. DO NOT put food out thinking that the squirrels or something else will benefit. I have found out that javelina will eat ANYTHING. I've even had them stomp rubbermaid chests until they opened trying to get at a sack of flour of all things, white faced javelina are kinda scary looking!!

We had a person in Prescott that said,"I walk among them." We also had a man write a letter to the editor in the Courier saying "Javelina hunt is a cruel practice." I am a hunter but I do agree with him that it is not appropriate to teach young children how to kill Javelina. Try a gun safety course and encourage them, with their parents, to hunt what their parents hunt eg. quail, pheasant, deer etc.

Our community in Prescott has been and is a dangerous place because of the Javelina herds. My dog has been attacked twice while on a leash in our yard. Both times we had large vet bills and once almost lost her. They eat or root up every plant we have. They turn over and eat our garbage. We have a next door neighbor that has a baby and a teen-age girl and the herd of Javilina walks right up their driveway. Across the street from them is a couple that feed and water the herd every day. My grand-kids are coming to visit and they are all ages. I fear for them.

I need help, what can we do? Relocation would be the answer but the city does not want to do it. I will approach them again and plead with them.

I am glad I found this forum - PLEASE HELP I will leave you with, DO NOT FEED THE "PIGS" OR "WALK AMONG THEM."
Bruce, The Biker.

Wow! Sounds somewhat like the behavior of bears.

Threaten to sue the city if they don't use their animal control resources to alleviate the problem. Towns will remove problem bears and other large animals, why not javelinas? Also, contact AZG&F dept office there, see what they can do. Go to town council mtg. Maybe they need some law enforcement as to the feeding problem, make it illegal to feed them in the town, then they can cite those who do. AZG&F dept. or animal control officer could trap them and remove them to a remote area, also.

Or, you could look on the internet about how to make a silencer... ;)

I live on the edge of the Phoenix Mountain Preserve, and for awhile we had javelina rooting in my wife's garden on a regular basis. Like you said, they would even break into her plastic buckets or outdoor storage locker, as well as root in her plantings. Tried scaring them off by throwing rocks, or rattling pebbles in a can, but they did not care. Having neighbors within 20 feet (it's one of those small lot neighborhoods), and being in the city, using a gun to shoot them was not a good option. (Not that lot's of folks in Sunnyslope don't have guns, but that's a different issue ...) So, I bought pellet gun. Still makes a pop, but not nearly as loud as a normal gun, nor as potentially dangerous without a clear sight line. Also, no need to explain the javelina corpse to animal control. So, javelina show up, give them a few pellets to scare them off. They should soon learn to avoid your area.

Well, sounds like a plan to me! I guess they do learn from experience!

Maybe we can form a group that goes out and feeds the pigs so that they stop eating all the other stuff. I'd be willing to take the summer off and volunteer to come there and help.

skatchkins wrote:Maybe we can form a group that goes out and feeds the pigs so that they stop eating all the other stuff.

Will they eat feral cats?

I'm getting a bumper sticker made that says "my javelina beat up your feral cat"