Texas Woman Drives In Atascocita At 3am. Then She Sees Something Shocking: ‘I’ll Never Drive The Same Again’

At 3am on a dark stretch of Madera Drive in Atascocita, Nicole (@gracefullynicole) did what any seasoned Texas driver has learned to do in the face of wild animals. She stopped her car and waited. In her viral video, a parade of feral hogs cross the street at their own pace, as they are illuminated by her headlights.

"Tell me you live in Texas without telling me," she captioned the TikTok video, adding a warning that resonates with drivers across the Houston suburbs: "This is your sign to pay attention while driving at night."

Where Do They Come From?

Wild hogs in Texas are descendants of both escaped domestic pigs and Eurasian ("Russian") wild boar, which were brought to the state for hunting in the 1930s. While not initially considered an issue, they’ve interbred over the decades to create the feral hog population we see today.

Unlike native wildlife, these animals have no natural predators in Texas and reproduce rapidly. Sows can have two litters per year, each with four to six piglets, allowing these populations to increase by 20% annually even with aggressive control measures such as hunting and poisoning. It would require removing 70% of the population each year just to stabilize the numbers.
What’s The Harm?

Long story short, they are known to tear up lawns, landscaping, farms, and golf courses. One Montgomery County resident reported a hog trying to break into his home in 2020. They are mean, smart, tough, and extremely hard to eliminate.

The Solution

That’s not to say Texas hasn’t tried.

Some counties pay bounties, but they aren’t really cost-effective. There are “smart trap loan” programs and other grants from the Texas Wildlife Services. The Woodlands even hired feral hog consultants and hosts educational seminars about them. Pasadena authorized Texas Parks and Wildlife to set traps.

Hunters and landowners killed up to 51,000 feral hogs in a single year a few years ago, but that number has dropped to around 40,000. It’s not enough to offset reproduction rates. As one Texas A&M extension agent put it: "Feral hogs are like fire ants: you are never going to get rid of them."

Despite all these efforts, the hog population appears to be on a runaway train. Unless more governmental (state and national) funding arrives, the feral hog population will continue to grow.

The Exception

According to the Houston Advanced Research Center's April 2025 report, El Paso County (bordering New Mexico and Mexico) is the only Texas county that hasn't reported feral hog sightings.

That's 253 out of 254 Texas counties with hogs. Why not El Paso County? Are the locals eating them? Some, sure. But there are major issues with consuming wild hogs.

Very simply, it's too dry. Feral hogs don't have sweat glands, so they need to stay near water sources to cool down. El Paso is in the Chihuahuan Desert. Conversely, this is why Houston and the surrounding areas have a significant issue: Hogs actively seek out wetlands, bayous, creeks, and rivers.

El Paso is safe for now and for the foreseeable future, as this probably won't change, as in, ahem, climate change. The Chihuahuan Desert will likely be even hotter and drier in the decades to come.

@gracefullynicole

Patch reached out to Nicole (@gracefullynicole), the Texas Parks and Wildlife, and the city of Atascocita/Harris County Precinct 4 for more information.