Hunter Cohen Nelson stands next to the wild pig he shot at Montreal Lake over the weekend. (Submitted photo/Jarret Nelson)

By Derek Cornet

invasive species

Wild pig discovery near Weyakwin alarming and shocking: U of S professor

Mar 3, 2025 | 3:23 PM

A University of Saskatchewan professor is calling the discovery of wild pigs near Weyakwin alarming and shocking.

On Saturday, land user and Montreal Lake Cree Nation member Jarret Nelson was checking his traps along the northwest shore of Montreal Lake when a wild pig emerged from the forest. Surprised by the encounter, he directed his son to shoot and kill the animal.

“We still can’t believe it because I grew up on the trapline my whole life,” Nelson said. “I only ever heard of them down south and I never thought we would see anything like it up here.”

It was about two months ago when Nelson first began seeing evidence of wild pigs. He noticed sections of the muskeg were being ripped up and he initially thought it was done by caribou, which haven’t been sighted in the area for 20 years.

“I know there is more. We didn’t see them, but we know they are there,” Nelson said.

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“They have dug up the muskeg on pretty much the whole northwest shoreline right to the north end of the lake. They are kind of heading north, so that would be about the Two Forks River area.”

Nelson is concerned about wild pigs expanding to the area because of the destruction they cause to the ecosystem. He is encouraging other land users to shoot them on sight because they will wreck havoc on local plants and wildlife.

Ryan Brook, who is a professor in the Department of Animal and Poultry Science in the College of Agriculture and Bioresources at the U of S, has been in contact with Nelson about the encounter. While he called the discovery alarming and shocking, he said he isn’t surprised.

“I have been working on wild pigs here in Saskatchewan and across Canada for 15 years now and I have been predicting this, and I’ve been calling for action to prevent this and I think that one thing that I will say is that it didn’t have to be this way,” Brook remarked.

“I think we could have prevented this. I think it was entirely preventable, but this has been a tidal wave in slow motion.”

Brook explained there has been a population explosion of wild pigs in the Prairie provinces since first being introduced in 1980s. He said they were brought to Saskatchewan as a source of meat, as well as to be used as a sport animal for recreational shooting.

Brook noted the price for wild pigs peaked in 2001, and since then, ranchers and others have been deliberately releasing them into the environment in large numbers. He added wild pigs can be dangerous, aggressive and elusive.

“They are the worst invasive large mammal on the planet and they are often referred to as an ecological trainwreck because they eat almost anything,” Brook said, adding a female pig can have multiple litters of on average six piglets per year.

Nelson sent the remains of the wild pig he shot to Brook. It will be genetically tested and could be sent to other university departments for further study.

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com