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Crikey!!

Crikey!!

A local (kiwi) bloke from Perth invited me and my flatmate out for a night pig hunting with his dogs (too hot to do it any other time during the summer) - the temp was easily in the late 20s at 10pm!

Anyway, we cruised out after tea and basically drove his local beat with his dogs on the back talking the usual shhmack about past successes until the dogs bailed off the back and it was all on.

Most of the pig sign was within close proximity to waterholes as it was so hot & dry, but of course with waterholes come frogs, and with frogs are snakes... So on went the long khaki pants!!

At about 9.30pm we came onto the first lot of pigs and of course they broke in every direction possible with each dog (there were 3) hot in pursuit of a different pig! Once they got bailing we each split off and assessed what the go was. They were all sows and weiners, so we called them off and saved this weiner.

We let her go once the dogs had settled and she disgruntedly (is that even a word?) oinked and grunted her way off into the balmy darkness.

The next group of pigs were a bit bigger in size (just), ranging from about 60lb to 80lb, but still not what the owner of the dogs was after. So after calling the dogs off and wheelbarrowing a couple of the pigs off to safety, we continued on in persuit of a dirty old boar. I would have been happy to keep a couple of eaters for the freezer - but when in rome..

About an hour later we come onto a big open stubble (wheat) paddock adjacent to a waterhole.. well bugger me, I havent seen as many pigs in one group in my life!! There must of been between 40 and 60 pigs, the closest bunch being about 250m away. With no rifle onboard we released the dogs and got amongst it.

I ran with the spotty in hand following (in the light) a couple of the bigger objects breaking across the stubble while the dogs tore off into the group and split the mob like a grenade. hahaa pigs were honestly peeling off everywhere. They ran between our legs; they ran into each other - it was a debarkle! And the dogs (again) got hold of a couple of medium sizers which we let go. One group of pigs had actually run away (safely) to one corner of the paddock before hastily turning like a flock of starlings and then came bursting back in our direction where all the action was!!

Long story short, we didn't get the two or three good sized boars that were in the stubble and we let go all the hand-bags that the dogs caught.

Upon checking out the waterhole where pigs had been wallowing in and surviving off (shit it was too hot to be anywhere else), we came across these two critters! Which by the way, had me scream when I stood over him and he striked my boot

They turned out to be pythons and were pretty chilled out actually. They did strike when you got too close, but they were pretty harmless really, so we picked them up for some photos and then let them go.

In fact, just after taking this photo the python striked the dog on the side of the head hahaa.

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