ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — Forget Wilbur in “Charlotte’s Web.” And put thoughts of “Arnold” in “Green Acres” aside.

There are pigs on the loose in the area, and they are not the docile, cute and cuddly creatures of TV and books.

They are feral hogs. They are big, defensive of what they think is their territory, and like most pigs, quite intelligent. The sows are due to have piglets almost any time.

“That makes them even more dangerous,” explained Terry Simpson, Parks and Recreation Supervisor for the city of Robertsdale. Sows, or female hogs, are protective mothers, and Simpson says they will lie in wait outside a trap to try to free their young. Adult males have sharp tusks and a determined female weighing in at 130 or more pounds are formidable opponents.

While there is the Disney “awwwww” factor to the pigs, they are wild animals, and are not native to the area, says Jim Armstrong, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System wildlife specialist and Auburn University professor of forestry and wildlife science.

“Pigs will definitely alter a habitat,” Armstrong says on a Alabama Cooperative Extension System Web page. The pigs root in the ground looking for nuts and grubs to eat, and have been known to kill and eat small animals.

According to an article by Chris Jaworowski, Wildlife Biologist, Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, “Feral hogs are also opportunistic feeders. If given the chance, hogs will prey on young fawns, turkey poults and eggs of ground-nesting birds like turkey and quail. Acorns are a preferred food source for feral hogs in the fall. A small group of hogs can deplete the forest floor of this valuable food source forcing native wildlife to move to other areas or feed on lower energy food sources. With an annual home range of over 10 miles, feral hogs can greatly affect food sources for native wildlife over a very large area.”

The hogs wallow in mud to protect their sensitive skins and eat just about anything they can get. They disturb the natural balance of plants and other animals.

“They will take your yard and turn the grass to mud,” said Simpson.

The hogs, according to Internet sources, are the descendants of pigs brought over to this country by settlers and allowed to roam free. Other ancestors of the wild hogs include feral pigs from Germany and Russia, introduced to this country to provide sport.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Web page, the pigs can be found in 23 states, including Alabama, and there are about four million animals in this country.

That’s a lot of wild pig, and according to Scott Gilbert, Robertsdale’s Director of Public works, they are “mighty fine eating” after they have been properly prepared.

The hogs have made appearances in the area, and in Robertsdale, they have been spotted near a popular walking trail, so volunteers from the city’s various departments have been trapping and killing the hogs in the hope of reducing their numbers and keeping hogs and people away from each other.

They are the only ones authorized by a game warden to take hogs in Robertsdale. Gilbert added that the pigs have been seen in other communities, ilike Elsanor and Rosinton, and recently news reports say that trappers were sent to a county park to kill and trap hogs.

The use of firearms within the city limits is prohibited, so the men have permission from the game warden to remove the hogs out of town to a place they can be butchered. (The pigs carry a variety of diseases that would harm domestic swine, so the usual rule is that they hogs must be killed where they are caught.) The men do the work on their own time, Simpson is careful to point out. The city’s only expense is providing feed corn to bait the traps, a cost of about $120

As of now, the Robertsdale pig hunters have taken 27 hogs from within the city limits. One of the largest hogs to date was a 315-lb. boar.

The animals can be quite powerful.

“He’d knocked out most of the three-quarter inch staples in the trap,” Gilbert said, adding that the trap is made of metal but does have some wood components. The average hog in this area, the men say, has been around 150 lbs.

“We’re really doing this to help out,’ explained Simpson.

If one should spot a wild hog, it’s important not to approach or startle it, both Simpson and Gilbert said.

“Ease away. Don’t go out looking for them,’ said Simpson.

If a hog is spotted, Gilbert said to, “Call local law enforcement.”