The HSUS
Along with animals rescued from neglect and abuse, saved from slaughter, given up by owners, or retired from labs, Black Beauty Ranch provides habitat for scores of unofficial residents who arrive on their own, without transport, paperwork or staff initially even knowing they are there. These animals include the alligator snapping turtle, black rat snakes, egrets, great blue herons, red-tailed hawks, turkey vultures, white-tailed deer, rabbits, coyotes, foxes, a visiting pair of bald eagles, and, on the margins of the property, a group of wild hogs. Unlike feral hogs elsewhere, they are tolerated, not shot as “pests.” Sanctuary staff are careful not to bother these locals or to harm them, says Christi Gilbreth, senior coordinator of outreach and development.
When caregiver Will Eschberger drives through the sanctuary, he’s always looking for the animals not fenced in or cared for, like the red slider (turtle) he spotted one afternoon in a creek by the road. “That’s been one of my favorite parts about working here—seeing the native wildlife,” he says. “Because this is a pristine piece of East Texas.”
The sanctuary’s unofficial wild hogs—not to be confused with its official feral pigs, seven neutered males who reside in an internal fenced area—roam near the outer perimeter fence, able to come and go. They root around for their own food, leaving holes in the ground that the facilities team fills in.
A farmer might worry about pigs like these destroying crops, but they don’t do much damage to Black Beauty Ranch’s pasture and woods, says Greg Garcia, director of animal care. He notes their presence without alarm: “The last time I saw them, they were running down the riverbank with piglets.”
