The Cryptid Zoo: Giant Hogs

Extra-large animals are one of the staples of cryptozoology. Reports constantly flow in of critters that are much bigger than mainstream scientists will accept. One category of giant animals that gets reported from all over the world consists of giant hogs or huge wild boars. One example is Hogzilla, a really big pig reported from the southern United States.

At least two species of really big pigs have turned out to be real; the chacoan peccary in the nation of Paraguay in South America, and the giant forest hog in the nations of Kenya, Tanzania, Congo, Ghana, Cameroon, the Ivory Coast and Ethiopia in Africa. Both of these species are now recognized by science, even though both of them were once the subject of much ridicule.

Another giant hog of legend turned out to be a real animal, but it was something other than a pig. This was the pgymy hippo, a rare animal that looks like a cross between a pig and a miniature hippo.

You can find out more about Giant Hogs from the following sources:

Clark, Jerome and Coleman, Loren. Cryptozoology A-Z. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999. Pages 54-55, 88

Coleman, Jerry D. Strange Highways: A Guidebook to American Mysteries & the Unexplained. Alton, Illinois: Whitechapel Productions Press, 2003. Page 187

Documentary Confirms Hogzilla's Existence

Finley, Burk. Hogzilla

Kearns, Colin. 'Hogzilla' vs. Hunter: Reports of a 1,000-pound wild hog has townspeople stunned

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Mikkelson, Barbara. Hogzilla

Minor, Elliott. Legend grows around 'Hogzilla': 1,000-pound hog reportedly killed on Georgia plantation

Newton, Michael. Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology: A Global Guide to Hidden Animals and Their Pursuers. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2005. Pages 6, 124, 262

Weidensaul, Scott. The Ghost with Trembling Wings: Science, Wishful Thinking and the Search for Lost Species. New York: North Point Press, 2002. Pages 181-182

Wikipedia, The. Chacoan Peccary

Wikipedia, The. Hogzilla