Invasive wild pig movement and space use in a mixed-use forest landscape, South Carolina

Abstract

Invasive wild pigs ( Sus scrofa ) pose considerable ecological and economic challenges across their introduced range, and understanding their spatial ecology is critical for management. This research and accompanying dataset represents adult wild pig movement in South Carolina, United States based on 16 individuals collared in 2023-2024. Using hourly GPS collar data for 6 males and 5 females, we calculated autocorrelated kernel density estimates (AKDEs) and monthly kernel density estimates (KDEs) to characterize space use. Individual pigs had an average hourly step length of 83 m and average net displacement of 930 m. On average, pigs used 2.32 km 2 monthly, while they used 2.95 km 2 over their entire tracked period (mean = 111 days). This work aims to support management actions and future research on invasive wild pigs.