Hello,

I dont know if you have heard or read about this story yet but it was interesting.

The way it went was that this guy came across this giant feral hog that measured 12 feet long and weighed 1000 pounds. He shot and killed it and then buried it right away after the sheriff measured it but before anyone else could see it, although he did take a picture of it hanging next to him and it did look incredibly big and hairy.
Forensic experts examined the picture and couldnt be sure if it as a fake picture or not.

Eventually it caught the interest of some other scientists who wanted to figure out what kind of animal it was and hopefully its genetic background. The guy who shot it and buried it told them where it was and they finally went and dug it up. They found it was missing the head, so they had to find out where the head was and it was buried in a different place so they had to dig that up too. Then they were able to place the carcass and head together and measure the length. The length came out to only 8 feet, but that was still considered to be a giant in that species history. The weight was actually 800 pounds but still considered to be a giant i think the biggest on record.

The genealogy traced back to part domestic and part wild which was what they were guessing. That means that either a wild male escaped from a cage and mated with a domestic pig, or a domestic pig escaped and mated with a wild male and the result was that giant. They think there could be others in the wild that are very big too because it was alive for some 7 years so it could have easily mated with females and thus passed on its unusual genes. It also had large circular tusks which was very rare.

I am sure there should be some web info out there with a simple search.
Here is one:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogzilla

 

Before the 20s or so here in Georgia there were no fences or fence laws. Instead of branding ear nocks (notches cut into the ear in a pattern) were used and each county kept a "brand book" in their courthouse recording them. Cattle and pigs roamed loose. When the family decided they needed one to eat they took their dogs and hunted them down. Hence the Georgia Bull Dog. Any unnocked animals were marked and released if not kept for food. The high sheriff here 40 years ago was very protective of feral cows and hogs and would arrest any outsiders caught with one. He stated "If you lift their tail and see an asshole that is my goddamn brand". Even today the good ole boys down here hunt with catch dogs in the swamps for feral hogs and cattle. The hogs bring good money from dealers who come down here from the Carolinas to buy them to take home and pass off as "Russian Razorback" hogs on their game farms for "Dudes" to shoot. Pigs were brought to the new world by the Spanish and have always been abundant here in the coastal swamplands. I used to shoot several every year to grill. Nothing as big as Hogzilla and usually not more than 80-150 lbs.

 

Before the 20s or so here in Georgia there were no fences or fence laws. Instead of branding ear nocks (notches cut into the ear in a pattern) were used and each county kept a "brand book" in their courthouse recording them. Cattle and pigs roamed loose. When the family decided they needed one to eat they took their dogs and hunted them down. Hence the Georgia Bull Dog. Any unnocked animals were marked and released if not kept for food. The high sheriff here 40 years ago was very protective of feral cows and hogs and would arrest any outsiders caught with one. He stated "If you lift their tail and see an asshole that is my goddamn brand". Even today the good ole boys down here hunt with catch dogs in the swamps for feral hogs and cattle. The hogs bring good money from dealers who come down here from the Carolinas to buy them to take home and pass off as "Russian Razorback" hogs on their game farms for "Dudes" to shoot. Pigs were brought to the new world by the Spanish and have always been abundant here in the coastal swamplands. I used to shoot several every year to grill. Nothing as big as Hogzilla and usually not more than 80-150 lbs.

Very interesting story thanks for sharing. Good to hear about local customs and stuff like that to get to know what goes on in areas away from home town. Things can be very different in different areas it is very surprising sometimes.

 

Instead of branding ear nocks (notches cut into the ear in a pattern) were used

Isn't that what finnaly set off the shooting between the Hatfield's and McCoy's? Before one side shot the wrong hog they were feuding but it hadn't come down to shooting yet.

 

Don't remember all the details about the feud but it was highly frowned up and usually involved the sheriff getting involved to shoot someone else's livestock. Feral hogs can be anything from escaped farm animals to the melange of mixes including the originals brought in by the Spanish. Very hairy and much like a dog when alerted, the hair stands up behind their neck giving them the Razorback appellation. Black, Brown, Off-White, Spotted, all kinds of mixed colorations and armed with a set of tusks that can rip a dog open. I've never encountered an angry one, they usually run the other way, but my grandfather told the story of being treed by one. As it stretched out trying to get at him he said it was over 6 feet long. Usually encountered individually or in small groups. I let the sows with piglets alone to raise their young. When they get up around ~150 lbs. or bigger they bring big dollars from the game farms. Some folks trap and pen them up to fatten for the table. Meat is tough and lean but makes excellent BBQ on the grill.