I killed my first (recognized) mulefoot boar back in 2011. This weekend, I killed my 10th, a 140 lb boar. All have been killed within 3 miles of each other in Montague County. I know mulefoot hogs are pretty rare, but I have a feeling they would be less rare if people took the time to look at the feet of the hogs and just quickly determine whether they are cloven-hooved (normal) or not (mulefooted). I know some of y'all have seen mulefoots, but many folks have not. So I have included pics of the feet for those who have not seen them before.

That's pretty cool. I can't say I've seen one of those yet. Looks like the bottom of the hooves are packed pretty tight with mud. Be interesting to see if you took a stick and cleaned them a bit (like a farrier cleans a horse's "frog") if the pads are solid or cleft.

Pretty cool.

I've always been aware of them, but never killed one personally.

That genetic trait doesn't seem to be broadly distributed. I don't know of anyone that has taken as many as you have.

Thanks for sharing.

I have yet to see one with a cleft on the bottom of the foot, but my sample size is only 10 and from a local population. I don't know how much variation there might be. The bottoms were all solid pads. However, I have seen them with clefts on the top. For example, here is a hog from October 2018. This is from a 90 lb sow.



Despite there being a cleft in the nail of the hoof, the bones underneath are fused together.



I thought you had gotten one or two. After all, it was from one of your posts (as you may recall) that I learned of this trait. As the story goes for my first back in 2011, I had shot a 220 lb boar that the landowner and I had taken it back up to his house (he was going to take the straps out) and I kept looking at the hog and thinking something just was not right with it. We wasted a lot of time jawing back and forth, getting the weight, talking about the shot, etc. before it finally dawned on me that the hog's hooves were not cloven. It was a very exciting AH-HA! moment for me, LOL

I have been fortunate to be hunting in an area where there is a local population, but people have killed them in several places in Texas, so I think the distribution is pretty wide, but the numbers aren't high. Somebody here on the forum even had one mounted and had posted a pic of that. I want to say it was from Central Texas. I will see if I can sleuth the ancient post.

I have a buddy in SE OK that has also killed a few. He seems to have a local population as well

I try to remember to look at the ones I shoot, but so far no mulefoot hogs have been noted around here — Lee County, Central Texas area.

You may recall several years ago I shot this one that had an extra dew claw…

No, I've seen one or two that others have killed but I haven't taken one. Very rare around here. That you have encountered 10 of them now is astonishing. That is far and away more than I've heard of anyone else taking. Clearly the trait is reasonably established in your area. Good job! I remember you and I having the conversation and me telling you that Mulefooted hogs were not unknown. In fact... the Domestic breed many years ago were quite prized and more than a few breeders kept them. Today I think there are only one or two breeders in the U.S. still keeping any stock.

Is it usually all of the hooves or just one or two? I've never looked to check - but I'll start.

JR

I have never seen it on less than all four hooves.

Thats wild. We've shot a couple with odd feet before, here is one that stood out