The appearance of a young wild hog on the exit-ramp on I-59 in Springville several years ago had a lot of people buzzing. Hundreds of people saw it. Several took photos and posted them online. Most were in awe because they had never seen such.

Coyotes? Sure. St. Clair County has had them for decades. Even bears. By being at the foothills of the Appalachians an occasional wandering bear had come through, but not wild hogs.

It appeared that day that people might be witnessing the beginnings of a plague. Somehow, St. Clair County had avoided the curse of the feral swine that was traumatizing other counties across the state. Shoot, even Jefferson County was beginning to see wild pigs roaming its farms and suburbs. St. Clair County shares a border with Jefferson County. It only seemed natural that the inevitable had finally arrived.

Oddly, that wild pig that day was just a false alarm. I live in St. Clair County. Since that day years ago, I have never heard any other stories of other wild pigs in the county.

Unfortunately, that changed this week. I was contacted about a monstrous wild hog being killed on a farm in Ashville, one of St. Clair County’s two county seats. I called the hunter. He had a fascinating story to tell.

“I hunt farms in Springville, Ashville and Odenville at night to help farmers who want me to help with their coyote problems,” Jason Ward said. “I’ve done that for years and have never come across a wild hog.