Wild Hog Caught in Mandarin Couple's Backyard

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.-- After it damaged their backyard, a Mandarin couple is relieved that a wild hog has finally been caught.

The wild hog was caught overnight in a trap in Janice Layman's backyard off Sunbeam Road.  Layman said this morning she looked out the window and the wild hog it in the cage.

"It was a shock.  It made me kind of nervous," she said.

She says she called a wildlife removal service after she found the grass in her backyard torn up.  She figured the damage was caused by some kind of animal, but she didn't know what.

"I never heard of wild pigs before," said Layman.

Ryan Boyd, the owner of the company that set the trap, says wild hogs are a big problem in the area.  Boyd says Florida and Texas have the highest population of wild hogs in the country.

"With all the development that's going on, it is causing all the hogs to be pushed into whatever habitat they can find," said Boyd.

Boyd says the hog caught in Layman's backyard will go to an area near Hastings.  He says there is about 2,000 acres there and it is about 40 minutes from any housing communities.