Q: I remember a photo of a giant wild hog that was killed somewhere in South Georgia about 10 years ago. There were doubts whether that hog was real. What was the outcome of that?
A: Forget about Godzilla. Georgia has Hogzilla. Many of you might remember the photo of a giant hog and Chris Griffin, who shot the massive swine at River Oaks Plantation in Alapaha in the summer of 2004. Rumors swirled that the hog was an unprecedented 12 feet long and weighed about 1,000 pounds, outrageous for a wild boar, which rarely exceed 500 pounds. This pig was big, but not as large as initially thought. National Geographic exhumed Hogzilla in 2005 and determined that Hogzilla weighed about 800 pounds, was about 8 feet long and was part domestic pig – which can exceed 1,000 pounds — and part boar. Either way, that's a lot of bacon.
Mooney's Lake update: I received several emails and messages from readers who have fond memories of Mooney's Lake, which was featured July 15. Here are a few:
"Mooney's lake was my first overnight trip as a scout and that was the first time I ever spent the night out in the woods." — Bill Poole, Vinings
"The zip line was my favorite part. We'd go out there with a carload of kids and we'd spend the whole day. It was a great place." — Dotty Riley, Atlanta
Jim Connah wrote to say his mother wouldn’t let him go to Mooney’s Lake because, in her opinion, “it was the type of place you could contract polio, which was rampant at the time.”
But the most endearing memories came from Verdery Cunningham, whose father, Ben Roberts, ran the small train there. He “loved trains and he loved his 19 grandchildren, so he put the two together. (He) bought a streamlined 1/5th scale model of a real train to travel around the lake,” she wrote. “The Central of Georgia Railroad Company put their colors on the side of the train, a fancy engine and three open passenger cars, and laid the railroad track around Mooney’s Lake. It was a long ride, truly a fine and fun adventure for both adults and children.”
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