ANAHUAC, Texas – The signs are all around Anahuac — on the ground where the “rootn’” is fresh, or just above it in writing at Double Bayou Park.
Wild hogs are a problem in Chambers County.
In fact, on a scale from one to 10, residents like Jared Coggins say the problem is a “10,” without hesitation.
It was just last month wild hogs contributed to the death of 59-year-old Christine Rollins. Wednesday night, officials from the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office and Texas Wildlife Services started a short stint of nightly hunts scheduled through Friday.
Texas Wildlife Services Director Michael Bodenchuk told KPRC 2 officials are focusing their efforts in a concentrated site attack in the vicinity of where Rollins was killed.
“We are working within four miles of the recent attack and we are trying to remove a small number of pigs, where they are concentrated right there around the attack site," Bodenchuk said.
Overnight, officials killed 10 hogs on private land, Bodenchuk said.
“They need to do it more than just a couple of nights,” Coggins said of the hunts.
Coggins, who spent the day duck hunting, is well aware of the issues surrounding the saturation of hogs in the area.
“You can shoot all the hogs you can see and you are never going to get rid of them,” he said.
At the Chambers County Golf Club, birdies and eagles are more than welcome but hogs tend to leave their own uninvited mark just off the thirteenth hole, according to resident Bill Augustine.
“Those hogs at night can just tear up a lot of ground in a hurry.” Augustine said.
The hogs can be scary for many, but 65-year-old Marsha Layer, a grandmother of five, has a “hog killer,” and she’s ready.
“I ain’t scared. I got a ‘chete. I’ll come to them,” she said. "I’ll kill them with a machete.”
After Thursday night’s hunt, officials plan to assess the situation and examine whether more hunts will be required into the weekend.