Some weeks ago we posted a piece by Naomi on a giant hog shot in Texas. A
few days later, Nich few days later Nichola Sullings sent us these photographs that have been doing the rounds for some time. I am embarrased to say that I forgot all about them, but it was only a few days before Christmas and other stuff was on my mind. I am tending to think that they have been photoshopped, but would like to hear your opinions on their status.
The blurb which goes with them is not encouraging:
Subject: Cute little Texas pig
Cute little Texas pig ..........That was killed in the town of Cut-N-Shoot TX . We call them Piney Wood Rooter's.
Over 1,800 lb. wild boar shot and killed in Conroe , Texas near the County Airport, East of I-45 and near the community of Cut and Shoot.
What would you do if this beast was coming at you?
Run for dear life? Climb a tree? or simply get run over ?
Yep......only in Texas !We were taught to stand still because their eye sight is poor..By standing still they probably would not see you and walk right on by..And No you can’t out run them!! Look at how tall the grass and weeds are. How fast do you think you would be running thru that?
What do you guys think?
Forced-perspective shots. IMHO, the missing "Thunderbird Photo" was nothing more nor less than exactly that as well.
ReplyDeleteTexas has many private game ranches. The game is actually imported and bred for the hunter's gun. It's very similar to the situation that was described in E.P. Thompson's Whigs and Hunters. Wildlife exists on these preserve only for those who exercise some sort of ownership right over them.
ReplyDeleteSince the arrival of the Spanish, Texas and most of the American South have had a feral pig/free range pig population. The animals were always allowed to forage over vast territories, which is similar to the medieval custom of pannage.
In recent years, it has become widely publicized that Texas has a lot of feral pigs, and the private game preserves have responded to this new market of pig hunters by importing wild boars from Russia. The Russian subspecies of European wild boar is larger than the other ones.
I am skeptical about the exact size given in that blurb. The biggest Russian boars are not as large as the biggest domestic pigs. 700 pounds is about as big as a Russian boar can get.
And most of these domestic pigs that approach this size are actually morbidly obese. This animal looks fat. Most true wild boars and feral pigs are not even remotely fat.
My guess is this animal has been selectively bred and fed to reach this size on a private game preserve. This is too big to be a normal Russian boar.
However, I'm also of the opinion that this animal has been photoshopped, or the men are actually standing far behind the boar. I see often this technique whenever a hunter kills a large Alaskan brown bear. The hunter is photographed many yards behind his kill to make it look larger than it already is.
Texas has many private game ranches. The game is actually imported and bred for the hunter's gun. It's very similar to the situation that was described in E.P. Thompson's Whigs and Hunters. Wildlife exists on these preserve only for those who exercise some sort of ownership right over them.
ReplyDeleteSince the arrival of the Spanish, Texas and most of the American South have had a feral pig/free range pig population. The animals were always allowed to forage over vast territories, which is similar to the medieval custom of pannage.
In recent years, it has become widely publicized that Texas has a lot of feral pigs, and the private game preserves have responded to this new market of pig hunters by importing wild boars from Russia. The Russian subspecies of European wild boar is larger than the other ones.
I am skeptical about the exact size given in that blurb. The biggest Russian boars are not as large as the biggest domestic pigs. 700 pounds is about as big as a Russian boar can get.
And most of these domestic pigs that approach this size are actually morbidly obese. This animal looks fat. Most true wild boars and feral pigs are not even remotely fat.
My guess is this animal has been selectively bred and fed to reach this size on a private game preserve. This is too big to be a normal Russian boar.
However, I'm also of the opinion that this animal has been photoshopped, or the men are actually standing far behind the boar. I see often this technique whenever a hunter kills a large Alaskan brown bear. The hunter is photographed many yards behind his kill to make it look larger than it already is.
Dale was faster. But that was my first impression before I even read the article and comments. Forced perspective I mean.
ReplyDeleteThe scale difference in the grass blades and the fact that they are always behind the beast gives it away. You don't even need Photoshop for this.
I'm sure that you can find some pretty big boars, but I doubt that this is real.
Forced perspective most likely... Retrieverman's got it too that a lot of these "monster boars" may not be strictly speaking wild.
ReplyDeleteThe answer: http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/animalsinsects/ss/wild_boar_tx.htm
ReplyDeleteThis boar was killed in Turkey.
http://www.naturetours.com.tr/approches/approches.htm
And they are standing far behind the boar to make it look larger.
Retrieverman is correct the individuals behind the Boar are further back making the wild pig appear larger then it is. When I blew up the image to it's maximum size of 1600% in Photo shop the pixels all blended smoothly. This tells me their was no manipulation. And I should know I have doctored many photographs.
ReplyDelete