Experts have warned that an "incredibly destructive" invasive species is on the brink of crossing the Canadian border into the United States, according to NewsNation.
What's happening?
The phrase "Canadian super pigs" might sound preposterous at first glance, but the moniker is no exaggeration.
Experts have long warned that the creatures — known as "feral hogs" in the United States — would inevitably cross the border and bring their destructive presence further south.
University of Saskatchewan professor Dr. Ryan Brook has raised the issue repeatedly in the media, and in February 2025, he told CBS News that their spread to the U.S. was imminent.
"This is what I've been warning for now [about] 15 years … And warning anybody who would listen that this is coming," Brook said.
Canadian super pigs and American feral swine (wild hogs) are not native to North America.
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According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), pure Eurasian wild boars were introduced into North America in the 1890s, due to their popularity among wealthy game hunters.
It didn't take long for the large and tenacious creatures to begin escaping their fenced-in habitats, after which they interbred with domesticated pigs and native feral swine.
NIFA indicated that feral hog populations exploded after 1989.
Why is this concerning?
Regardless of whether Canadian super pigs make their way to Northern States, feral hogs are already an established invasive species in the U.S.
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$200 or more 💰 Invasive species are marked by certain traits; they're well-suited to thrive in a new ecosystem, they reproduce rapidly, and lack natural predators to keep their impacts in check. Wild hogs are one of the most destructive invasive species in North America.
In May, the Farm Bureau estimated that feral pigs caused $1.6 billion in damage each year in just 13 states, and the USDA pegged that figure at $2.5 billion nationwide.
The USDA emphasized that wild hogs "will eat almost anything" and are incredibly destructive to ecosystems. Feral swine both eat and destroy crops, aggressively root and damage farm and wetlands, and contaminate resources.
In addition to causing costly damage to soils and wetlands, the invasive species "can carry and/or transmit 30 diseases and 37 parasites to livestock, pets, and wildlife," the USDA added.
Of all the risks posed by Canadian super pigs, their ability to spread illness worried Brook the most.
"Disease is the problem that could be catastrophic," he told NewsNation.
What's being done about it?
The USDA has warned that without stringent federal and state coordination, the U.S. could face what it called a "feral swine bomb."
Ongoing efforts like the USDA's Feral Swine Control Project have yielded results, culling more than 13,000 wild hogs, and aerial hunting initiatives have helped.
Despite the scope of the problem, Brook explained that Canada's wild pigs could be stopped before crossing into the U.S.
"We could prevent it. We just have to get real serious real fast," he said.
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