Another Hogzilla in Georgia...what's in the water down there?

[gr8dane_daddy]

Another Hogzilla Caught Near Atlanta
FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — A giant wild hog boasted to be bigger than the near-mythical "Hogzilla" caught in southern Georgia a few years ago has been killed in a suburban Atlanta neighborhood.

The hog hung snout down from a tree Friday in William Coursey's front yard, not far from where the avid hunter said he shot the beast. He said he hauled it to a truck weight station, which recorded the hairy hog at 1,100 pounds.

The Department of Natural Resources did not know whether the hog was a record for the state. "We don't keep records on hogs," said Melissa Cummings of the DNR's public affairs department.

But Coursey believes his behemoth surpasses the famed super swine shot and killed in 2004 that weighed in at half a ton on the farm's scales. A team of National Geographic experts later confirmed "Hogzilla" didn't quite live up to the 1,000-pound, 12-foot hype, saying the beast was probably 7 1/2 to 8 feet long, and weighed about 800 pounds.

The news of Coursey's kill got people are talking about the enormous beasts that roam the state.

"Nobody keeps official records," said Daryl Kirby, an editor with Georgia Outdoor News. "But it's one heck of a hog."

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/National/Hogzilla_Killed.html

[Robeson]

1. So, they find an animal that may be of record size....

...and a rare example of that particular species, so they hunt-em-down and kill 'em. Sad.

[gr8dane_daddy]

2. The funny part is...

how the officials state they don't keep records of hog kills. Guess they can just hunt away in rural Ga.

[alarimer]

4. Feral hogs are vermin basically

They are incredibly destructive to the environment and they reproduce like crazy. There is no way we can eradicate them now that they are spreading everywhere but they should be removed from highly fragile environments, like islands for example.

[alarimer]

3. That one turned out to be a hybrid

Part domestic hog, part feral. Genetically speaking anyway. What I found interesting was how fast domestic pigs can revert to their wild type. They get hairier for one thing.

[outofbounds]

5. There is a population problem

with wild hogs in Ga. I think the season is open year round to try reduce the numbers. They are damaging to property and you see carcasses on the roadside quite often where I live. I been driving and had to stop and wait for a small herd to cross the road. The DNR will put together hunts and donate the meat to a school for wayward boys.
You don't want these critters in your neighborhood as they can be very aggressive.