A massive herd of “between 100 - 150” wild javelina — a.k.a. skunk pigs — have been terrorizing the water-guzzling Seven Canyons Golf Club in the state’s Coconino National Forest, leaving club owners searching for solutions in the wake of the javelina’s destruction for the past six weeks.
Though the Arizona Alliance of Golf touted a $6-billion impact on the state made by golf courses — and “only 2% of Arizona’s daily water use” — an investigation by the Arizona Republic found courses in the state were over way over their daily water limits.
In 2021, the Arizona Republic found that across the state’s 219 golf courses, the average water use per course came out to about 450,000 gallons per day.
The javelina are spurred on by a hunger-causing drought, seeking grazing greens and grub-worms on the course because it was carved out of the animals’ home turf. With less than 2 inches of rain this year in the Sedona area, the javelina are on a survival mission for food, compared to their relative quiet last year when the area saw up to 18 inches of rain.
But five years ago, during a particularly tough summer, the skunk pigs were running amok like they are now — sporting territory-marking scent glands on their rumps, which produce pungent odors from a nipple-like protrusion that humans can smell downwind. Seeking to drive them off, the club sprinkled granules of coyote urine around the course.
But did that stop the javelinas? Hell no. These little freaks absolutely loved it. The skunk pigs went berserk after doing bumps of coyote piss at the club, and then ran roughshod through a top-25 course that venerable sports publication Golf Digest ranks among the best in the country. Iconic.
Uncritical support against all golf courses.
Also:
the average water use per course came out to about 450,000 gallons per day
Do they actually personally use it or does water used by golf courses and paper mills get included?
lol the article is worth it for the video of the wrecked golf course parts alone. pigs dig with their faces. as someone who has dug a lot of holes in the ground and generally worked soil a lot, face-style is the most aggressive / take no prisoners form of digging. it’s incredible to watch/hear a group of pigs get into it.
they are some no-BS earthworkers and will turn the earth like beavers build dams.
