Friday, October 19, 2007
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Photo in the News: Hogzilla Is No Hogwash
Hogzilla lives! Well, he used to, anyway, according to scientists in a National Geographic Explorer documentary that confirmed the massive swine's existence Sunday night.Georgia hunting guide Chris Griffin (pictured with Hogzilla) shot the allegedly 12-foot (3.7-meter), 1,000-pound (454-kilogram) hog in June 2004. Ever since, the controversy has ballooned along with the legend. Some critics cried hoax. Others said Hogzilla was a homebody: Domestic pigs can grow to 1,000 pounds. Wild ones rarely exceed 500 pounds (228 kilograms).
Scientists working with the National Geographic Society dug up the swine in November 2004 to analyze his remains and test his DNA. Hogzilla, they announced on Sunday's documentary, was part wild boar and part domestic pig. The experts estimated that he would have weighed only about 800 pounds (363 kilograms) and measured about 8 feet (2.4 meters).
Hogzilla's tusks—one nearly 18 inches (46 centimeters)—set a North American Safari Club International record. But it's a dubious distinction. Such length, one scientist said, could only have been achieved in a pen. So the jury is still out on whether Hogzilla was wild at heart or a pig in a poke.
—Ted Chamberlain
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Monday, October 1, 2007
Hogzilla!!!
Near Delta, Alabama, May 3, 2007—Hogzilla may be headed for horror-movie heaven, but the massive swine that became an Internet sensation in 2004 may have been bested, size wise, by this reportedly wild pig killed May 3 by Jamison Stone, 11, and reported by the Associated Press on Wednesday. From tip to tail, the newfound hog—dubbed "Monster Pig"—measures 9 feet, 4 inches (284 centimeters) and weighs in at 1,051 pounds (477 kilograms), according to Stone's father. At a 150-acre (60-hectare), fenced hunting range, Stone said, he shot the huge beast eight times with a revolver before tracking it with his father and guides for three hours. Finally, the boy shot the hog at point-blank range, killing the animal, the AP reported. While hunting by children is legal in Alabama, officials are investigating whether anyone had transported and released the live feral pig into the hunting preserve, which would violate state law. Read the full news here ..
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