ABSTRACT
This chapter presents what is known about population dynamics of wild pigs in North America, including population demographics, survival and longevity, and reproduction. It examines techniques used to estimate population densities of wild pigs, and the different modeling approaches available for understanding population dynamics. The chapter discusses understanding and estimating population dynamics can inform management of wild pigs, and what gaps of knowledge still exist for improving management in North America. The concept of carrying capacity provides a useful theory for discussing population dynamics of wild pigs. This theory suggests that vital rates for populations of wild animals trend toward capacity of the landscape to support those populations, and that densities fluctuate around this capacity over time. Information on wild pig sex ratio is generally localized, and restricted to reports of fetal counts or data collected from culled populations. In both wild pigs and wild boar, fetal sex ratios typically do not differ statistically from parity.
