Habitat Preferences of Feral Hogs, Deer, and Cattle on a Sierra Foothill Range

Abstract

The relative habitat preferences of feral hogs (Sus scrofa), black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus), and cattle were assessed for 17 habitat types by sampling the distribution and abundance of fecal sign on a northern California annual range. Hogs preferred oak thickets and irrigated pastures; deer preferred brushland and oak woodland; and cattle preferred level topography and sites with relatively high herbage production including irrigated pastures, upland plains, and oak savanna-woodland. Deer and cattle used the study area during winter only, whereas the hogs were permanent residents. An association analysis indicated the greatest potential for interspecific competition would be between cattle and deer on foothill ridge tops and between cattle and hogs on irrigated pastures.