ONE HUGE BFP......

http://www.icorp.net/mpr/mdb-4k?cfg=lp&fnc=3&header=lasreport-header.htm&footer=lasreport-footer.htm&rno=4449&style=4&form=lasreport-view-one.htm

You know the old saying, "Everythings bigger in Florida"... No well you better learn it fast. Below is the story as told to me!

The fellow in the pictures is Larry Earley, He lives about 30 miles from Orlando, in the very rural community of Okahumpka, just off the Florida turnpike in Lake County, Florida. He has 20 acres of land and on it, a few cows and horses. Mostly it's pasture land that is fenced with woods surrounding him.

He is neighbored by a larger cattle ranch. His neighbor has complained for several years that wild hogs had been raiding his cattle feeders and salt licks.

Last month he saw what he though was a cow in his pond and went to see if it was stuck in the mud and would have to be pulled out. When he got close enough to realize it was hog, the thing made a charge at him. He had driven his truck down to the pond and carries a pistol in it. He got his handgun and when it came at him again, he shot it twice and killed it.

Wild hogs in Florida usually run from 100-400 pounds with aY400 pounder being a monster. Because this one had been feasting on grain for several years it had grown to mamoth size. When Larry took it to the processor it weighed in at over 1100 pounds!

The meat has no wild taste, as it was grain feed and Larry is quite the hero. He has fed many fireman and provided the homeless shelter in downtown Orlando with a couple of meals.

Looks suspiciously like a farm escapee to me. Wow, that's a lot of pork!

NEW contact URL with picture
click on camera in upper left for pic.

http://www.icorp.net/mpr/mdb-4k?cfg=lp&search=lasreport&field=1&header=lasreport-header.htm&footer=lasreport-footer.htm&badsearch=lasreport-badsearch.htm&cform=lasreport-cform.htm&search=&field=8&search=larry+earley&field=519&and=1&style=4&form=lasreport-view.htm&search=180&field=1024&pm=25&fnc=5&reverse=1&submit=+Start+Search%21+

I would agree that it does look like a farm escape hog. One of the things I learned doing wildlife management for so long was that wild animals have limited natural growth do to parasites. Inoculations to keep an animals digestion clean and 100% functional goes a long way towards increasing it's growth rate, and maximum size. Generations of this care increase the size of most domestic animals until some functional limit is reached. Turkeys are another good example. One of the main reasons wild hogs over 300 pounds are so rare is that they are typically filled with parasite( worms) This is an especially consistant problem with wild swine because of what and how they eat. Their sizes are some what limited to the parasites they have and the food available. The wild european hogs do get to the 400-700 pound range on very rare occasion but only after 7-10 years old and then only in the most rare occasions. These wild hogs are genetically superior to feral or domestic hogs in that they have developed some immunity to the action of parasites over 1000's of years of evolution.

To see any "wild" hog with big floppy ears over 1000 pounds does not really do justice to the actual wild hog populations of Florida or anyplace else. The real true wild hogs with a long snout and legs, trim waist and big shoulders with erect ears are actually naturally born wild hogs. This fat floppy eared farm pig cannot be considered the same.

It's nice he shot the pig, I'm glad for him. However the relationship is the same as shooting a wild Dairy cow. I rather doubt this big pig grew to it's size 100% natural on it's own without inoculations and parasite control. Somebody gave this hog one heck of good start in life with proper vet care to get it that big. It may have exceeded it's use for the owner and or escaped at some point. But I would not believe that it was born wild and grew to 1000 lbs on it's own.

Photo from the www.icorp.net link above:

I just got a many-times forwarded email of that story with pictures but with a different name, different town and state. No telling how many times it will be misrepresented before it fades away. Damn big hog no matter who the guy really is or where he really lives.