Osterhout traps baby feral hogs
Originally from upper Michigan, “Trapper” Ken Osterhout came to Pine Island in 1984 with his parents, working various jobs over the years as a maintenance man on Useppa Island, commercial fisherman and finally as a custodian with Lee County schools.
“I learned to trap as a kid from my father and grandfather,” Osterhout said. “We trapped muskrat, beaver, coyotes and bobcat for the pelts. When we would go trapping, it was typical for us to stay out about two weeks at a time.”
In 1997 Osterhout was introduced to hunting wild boar.
“Then in 1998 I decided to get a trapper’s license,” Osterhout said. “Wild boar are on Little Pine Island and all over Pine Island. I trapped wild boar and also raccoons and possums for people when they became a problem. I retired from trapping in 2013.”
He trapped several small feral hogs in Bokeelia across Stringfellow Road from Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Catholic Church.
According to “The Nature Lover’s Guide to Pine Island,” “feral hogs are also spread throughout Pine Island. There is a big colony on Little Pine Island and smaller colonies near the former Willow Lake, near Maria Drive, and west of Pine Flatwoods Preserve. They do tremendous environmental damage.”