The Largest Wild Hog Ever Caught in North Carolina

Wild hogs roam 40 states in the U.S., and experts estimate numbers have hit at least nine million! Wild hogs are available for hunting with few restrictions, and hunters have caught some behemoth-sized hogs, but what’s the largest wild hog ever caught in North Carolina? How does it measure up to the largest ever caught?

The Largest Wild Hog Ever Caught In North Carolina

The largest wild hog caught in North Carolina weighed 707 pounds. This massive feral hog lived in the mountains of Transylvania County. Bruce Florence shot the epic hog with his son Jonathan on January 16, 2015.

Mr Florence said the hog ran straight at him after his son flushed smaller hogs from a bush. He shot the unfortunate hog at 30 yards. Measurements indicate it was 7.4 feet long! This massive creature, dubbed by Florence as “a buffalo,” produced 150 pounds of sausage and bacon, plus ham and tenderloin, for the Florence family.

Largest Hog Caught in the United States

How does North Carolina’s largest wild hog compare to the largest hog ever caught?

In Alpaha, Georgia, Chris Griffin killed an enormous hog nicknamed Hogzilla, which was exhumed by National Geographic experts keen to verify rumors that Hogzilla weighed more than 1,000 pounds.

Ultimately, Hogzilla weighed a whopping 800 pounds and measured eight feet long. One of its tusks was 18 inches in length. This is the largest wild hog ever caught in the U.S.

North Carolina Hunting Rules

Currently, there’s no bag limit on wild hogs, and the season is open all year round. However, any person hunting wild hogs must have a hunting license and hunt during normal hunting hours. The hours are all day, plus 30 minutes before sunrise and 30 minutes after sunset. Anyone caught without a license or hunting outside these hours risks a heavy fine.

How Many Wild Hogs Live In North Carolina?

Rangers estimate around 100,000 wild hogs live in isolated pockets across North Carolina, in at least 81 of its counties. The majority reside in the southern states, but they appear across the breadth of the county.

In the 1500s, boar were released into the wild for sport hunting, and they enjoyed state protection from 1979 to 2011. This hugely increased their numbers to the point where feral hogs have become an environmental nuisance.

In comparison, the highest number of wild hogs live in Texas, where they number three million. States including Louisiana, Florida, and Georgia, each home to over 200,000 wild hogs.

About Wild Hogs

On average, wild hogs weigh 200-300 pounds. Around 16 wild hog subspecies exist, and their babies are known as “humbugs” due to their adorable stripes. Other names for wild hogs include feral hogs, feral pigs, wild boars, and razorbacks. These clever and resourceful animals are descendants of escaped or deliberately released domesticated pigs.

Wild hogs can be aggressive. With their large, strong bodies, tusks, and fair turn of speed, a wild hog can easily outrun a human. Despite their short, thin legs, wild boars run at 25-30 mph. That’s enough to catch a dog or a fit and healthy human running at full speed.

Feral hogs use their bulldozer necks to root and turf through the soil on forest floors, which means they have vastly powerful neck muscles. A wild hog’s powerful tusks and neck can dig four inches into frozen ground. They can easily rupture veins and muscles.

Wild Hog Diet

Omnivorous wild hogs eat pretty much anything they find. Roots, berries, vegetables, fungi, nuts, and leaves feature heavily, but they also consume earthworms, birds, lizards, fish, lizards, and garbage. An adult hog requires 4,000-4,500 calories daily, so foraging is a major part of their routine. Their excellent sense of smell helps the family group locate a food source.