Razorbacks, also referred to as an Old World swine, Eurasian wild boar, or Russian wild boar, are feral pigs that were brought to North America by the explorer Hernando de Soto during the mid-1550s. The animal evolved due to a system of farming known as free roam or free range farming, where domesticated animals were allowed to roam freely and are identified by a brand, or burned marking, on their hides. Though pigs were successfully farmed this way, many were lost. These lost pigs eventually made up the first razorback populations. This type of farming eventually declined because of space limitations and because of the desire to obtain hard fat, which can only be harvested from pigs on strict diets.

Razorbacks are also viewed as a chief game species in many parts of the United States. They are found in 19 states, mainly in the southeastern United States but extending up to the northeast and in part of the Midwest. Texas has the largest population of razorbacks (referred to locally not as razorbacks, but simply as 'feral hogs' or, colloquially, as 'Piney Woods rooters') which are sometimes confused with the javelina, a similar (but unrelated) native species in the southwest. Razorbacks are hunted for sport and trophy. Hunting of razorbacks is encouraged in many areas due to their destructive nature. They tend to shy away from human contact but can become very dangerous if they are cornered, wounded, or with young, and can injure and even kill humans and other animals.

In one of the worst virgin soil epidemics in history, more than half of the Native Americans living in what is now the Southeastern United States died of smallpox and related causes following the de Soto expedition. The epidemic, which effectively caused the collapse of the Mississippian civilization, is often attributed not to de Soto, but to his escaped pigs, the ancestors of today's razorbacks.

Popular culture

Trivia: date=September 2008

• The razorback is the mascot for many elementary, middle, and high schools throughout the southeast United States. It is probably most famously known as the mascot for the University of Arkansas's sports teams in Fayetteville, Arkansas, which is the only university or major sports team in the United States with a porcine mascot. The razorback was also the mascot of the fictional Sunnydale High School on the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The razorback was also the mascot of the US Naval ship USS Arkansas (CGN-41)

• Razorbacks are also known as the mascot for the Headquarters Support Company of the Special Troops Battalion, 4ID, an Army Unit.

• The 1984 film Razorback features one of the animals terrorizing the Outback.

• In the famous French comic Asterix and Obelix, they appear frequently as the preferred food of the Gauls.