Alabama taxidermist Wade Seago shot and killed this 820-pound wild hog on his front lawn with a .38-caliber handgun and plans to mount the head and shoulders. (Courtesy of Wade Seago via AP)
A hunter in southern Alabama bagged and tagged the trophy animal of his life when he discovered an 820-pound wild hog on his front lawn.
Wade Seago, a deer hunter and taxidermist in Samson, said he knew something was up outside his house July 11 when his family’s dog started barking and wouldn’t stop, AL.com reported.
His daughter began screaming as he got up to check on his dog, Cruiser.
"I jumped up to see what was going on," Seago explained to the news site. "I looked out the back window and saw nothing, so I ran to the front of the house where my daughter was looking out the window. I couldn't believe what I was seeing."
He discovered Cruiser barking at the massive wild hog, which was about five yards from his family’s front porch.
"Cruiser had this huge hog confused with all of the barking and movement," Wade continued. "It was not a good situation."
Fearing the worst, Seago grabbed his .38-caliber revolver and went back onto the front porch.
Seago told AL.com that it took three shots to take the hog down before it hit the ground.
"By the time I got in a position to shoot, the hog was about 12 yards away," he said. "Cruiser was out of my line to the hog so I fired."
The next day, the sharpshooter took the hog to a nearby peanut company to use its scales to weigh the wild beast.
Seago told the Associated Press on Wednesday that he plans to display the hog's stuffed head and shoulders at his taxidermy shop. He said the rest of the remains were discarded on a friend's property.
"It's so humid down here, it had to hang all night. I wouldn't trust the meat," he said.
Seago didn't have any regrets about killing the hog, which had tusk-like teeth that were 6 inches (15 centimeters) long. Feral hogs cause millions of dollars in damage annually, and hunters on private land can kill as many of them as they want under Alabama law.
"I didn't think twice about taking down this hog," Seago said. "I'd do it again tomorrow."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.