Tale of the world’s biggest pig ‘Big Bill’ who weighed over a TONNE & was destined for world fame before tragic accident
THIS is ‘Big Bill’, the world’s largest pig who was destined for global fame – until he unsurprisingly died from carrying his colossal weight.
The porker was measured at a shocking 9ft long and weighed an unbelievable 1,157kgs – the weight of a small car.
The Poland China breed pig was born in 1930 and was reportedly the only survivor of his litter.
The massive swine reportedly didn’t stop growing and, along with the breed being known for large muscle mass, meant he was destined to be gargantuan.
Visitors used to come far and wide just to look at Big Bill – who appeared to resemble more of a large cow than he did pig.
Elias Buford Butler from Jackson, Tennessee was the proud owner of the porker.
Poland China hogs were commonly found in the US during the early 20th century – but none were even close to Bill’s size.
These specific breeds of pigs distinctively have a black coat with white markings.
They’re also renowned for their robust physique which farmers look for to produce large amounts of meat that is also good quality.
Big Bill’s upbringing would have had a huge impact on his size and also shows the incredible breeding practices that took place in the early 20th century.
Elias entered Big Bill into the World’s Fair in Chicago so visitors could catch a glimpse of the beast in his hefty glory – but disaster struck.
Unsurprisingly, from carrying his colossal weight, Big Bill broke a leg.
From the injury, he tragically had to be put down.
It is believed that Big Bill was three years old when he died – which is not typical of his breed.
Generally, Poland China hogs have an average lifespan of 10 to 12 years.
No pig since has managed to reach the impressive size that Big Bill did.
But another porker follows close behind in (almost) reaching Big Bill’s size.
Ton Pig, from China, was also a domestic pig and weighed a whopping 900kgs in 2004.
The beast, owned by Xu Changjin, died from poor mobility because of its enormity.
After his death, Ton Pig was then sent to the Liaoning Agriculture Museum in Shenyang and put on display.
