Annaville (KIII News) — Neighbors in Annaville have said a pack of javelinas terrorized McCain Drive and fear for their children's safety on Halloween night.
Residents in the neighborhood have said a family of javelinas started attacking neighborhood dogs, and parents are worried about taking their kids trick-or-treating.
Neighbors on McCain Drive have said they started noticing javelinas about a week ago.
On Sunday, one resident's sister heard a big commotion, and when she walked outside, she saw a family of javelinas attacking the fence around her house. The resident found out that the pack was after some food in their trash cans in the driveway.
The family's dog heard the javelina and started to bark which caused them to create a hole in their fence. The dog got out and began fighting with the javelinas. The homeowner was able to hit one of the Javelinas with a rock killing it.
Texas Parks and Wildlife investigated the incident Monday morning and found the man was defending his dogs.
"They are a game animal. So it's not like feral hogs for instance. There's no limit to killing feral hogs. There's no season for feral hogs however for javelinas there is a season. There is a limit," said Juan Ruiz, wildlife removal specialist.
According to Ruiz, to kill a javelina you must have a hunting license, and you can't shoot them within city limits.
Ruiz believes some recent housing developments nearby have caused the javelina to move up the creek bed behind the neighborhood as they search for food.
Ruiz said there might not be anything residents can do once javelina are in the area but they can stop them from making their neighborhood the habitat. One way for residents to prevent the javelinas is by taking their trash cans in the garage.
Javelinas love tulips, cacti, and other vegetation so it would be a good idea for residents to put fences around their plants.
Ruiz said if residents do see javelinas they must not approach them and make noise because it will scare them off.
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