With the local legend of Hogzilla spreading worldwide, residents of this tiny Georgia town have decided to feature the prodigious porker in their annual festival.
Plantation owner Ken Holyoak said one of his hunting guides shot the 12-foot-long wild hog in June, but few actually saw it before it was buried. Besides the few witnesses, the only proof is a photo showing the guide with the beast dangling from a strap.
Holyoak claims the hog weighed 1,000 pounds and had 9-inch tusks.
Now, residents plan to include a Hogzilla float, a Hogzilla informational booth and Hogzilla T-shirts in Alapaha’s festival in November.
“We’re going hog wild,” said Darrell Jernigan of Jernigan’s Farm Supply.
The festival’s previous themes include God Bless America, Saluting Our Firemen and Our Indian Heritage.
Residents around town smile when strangers ask them about the massive hog.
“Some say it’s like fishing,” Elizabeth Moore said. “The more you tell the story, the bigger the fish gets, and the more you tell the story about Hogzilla, the bigger the hog gets.”
Feral hogs, popularly known as wild hogs, are domestic hogs that escaped from farms and began living off the land. Holyoak said his plantation’s previous record was a 695-pound hog shot several years ago.