When the first photo above appeared on the internet with various descriptions, many people think the photo is an engineering, including the Ministry of environment and conservation of Australia. The debate heats up when the news site PerthNow also publish it in their site.
But it all became clear when the daily The Sunday Times confirmed that the pig was shot near the Pilbara ranch near Newman, 1200 km northeast of Perth. A relative of the man in the photo have confirmed the man's name was John Anick, a rancher from the Pilbara, and the photo was taken at the property three years ago. Previously, Anick family refused to talk about it for fear that giant pig boar hunters will flood the area.
The source said that the pig weighs 220 kg and is seen eating a cow by officers mustering cattle in a helicopter. Mr Anick saw it again to check windmills on the property and shot it.
"I am 100 percent sure that the photo was taken in the Pilbara and the man in the photograph is the man I referred to earlier." The source said.
However the Department of Environment and Conservation is still the authenticity of the photo resist. Nigel Higgs, an official in the department said: "There are some pigs at De Grey River area, east of Port Hedland and some are turned into wild pigs near the river Savory, 200 km east of Newman, but they are little red pig guava. "
Although it has received a negative response from the department, several sources confirmed the authenticity of the photograph remains. A source in Perth claimed to have to scan the original image into a computer. A site that specializes uncovers hoaxes engineered photo-Slayer.com named in an article in January 2007 also stated that the photo was genuine and taken in the Pilbara.
There are an estimated 23 million wild pigs across Australia, especially the most in New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory.
