A pack of animals went hog wild at Riverside’s Fairmount Park on Wednesday night, damaging the turf.

The culprits – caught on camera by a resident – were feral pigs that roam the Santa Ana River bottom and sometimes come up to root in nearby yards and landscaping.

On Facebook, news of Fairmount Park’s porcine visitors got some commenters debating whether the animals are dangerous and if it’s legal to hunt them. Others’ minds were on one thing: bacon.

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The pigs have lived in the river bottom for decades and have been reported tearing up plants and grass from the Hidden Valley Wildlife Area in western Riverside to Eastvale to Jurupa Valley. People believe they escaped from farmers or ranchers, with the current pack rumored to be descended from pigs freed during a 1938 flood, Riverside City Councilman Mike Gardner said.

“Generally, they aren’t a problem,” he said. “Occasionally, they will come up into residential neighborhoods or parks and root in landscaped areas.”

The pigs typically stay out of sight during the day and emerge at dusk or later to forage and feed.

“They generally will leave people alone, but if you corner one or if, like (with) a bear, you get between mama and babies, that’s not a good thing,” Gardner said.

City spokesman Phil Pitchford said officials aren’t aware of previous pig problems at Fairmount Park.

In previous years when the pigs caused more widespread damage or their population exploded, angry or concerned humans have sought state permits and organized hunts to kill some of the animals.

But in several instances, the pigs reportedly made themselves scarce before a hunt could take place.

The group spotted in Fairmount Park apparently included some little piggies. Johnna Davidson, who posted a photo on Facebook, wrote that she thought about half of the herd were babies.

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