Experts prove Hogzilla really was super swine

A TEAM of National Geographic experts has confirmed that south Georgia's monster pig, known to locals as Hogzilla, was indeed real and really, really big.

But they conceded that the super swine didn't quite live up to the 71-stone 12ft hype generated when Hogzilla was caught on a farm in Alapaha last summer and photographed hanging from a backhoe.

Donning biohazard suits to exhume the behemoth's smelly remains, the experts estimated Hogzilla was probably only seven and a half to 8ft long, and weighed about 57st.

The confirmation came in a documentary on America's National Geographic Channel.

"He was an impressive beast. He was definitely a freak of nature," said documentary producer Nancy Donnelly. She said Hogzilla's tusks one measuring nearly 18in and the other nearly 16in set a new Safari Club International North American free-range record.

But that wasn't good enough for Ken Holyoak, owner of the 1,500-acre fish farm and hunting preserve where Hogzilla was shot by guide Chris Griffin.

"I need to stress that they did not have that much to work with, seeing as how the poor beast had been underground for nearly six months," he said yesterday.

Mr Holyoak said Hogzilla weighed in at half a ton on his farm scales and that he personally measured the hog's length at 12 feet, while the freshly killed beast was dangling by straps from a backhoe.

"As with any organic being after death, tissues will decompose and the body will atrophy, making actual measurements change over time," Mr Holyoak said. "Have you ever seen a raisin after it was a grape?" Ms Donnelly said experts allowed for some shrinkage in making their final estimate.

Despite the dispute, Alapaha, 180 miles south of Atlanta, has already adopted Hogzilla as its own. It went with a Hogzilla theme for its autumn festival.