Did You Know?
For centuries it was believed that pigs could not swim because their feet – known as trotters – would cut their throats.
Imagine that you are enjoying a holiday of a lifetime, sailing the Bahamas on a small boat. The sun shines: the sea is so clear you can see colourful and exotic fish swimming beneath you. In the distance is an island where there are no buildings or people, just sandy shores. The captain of your boat suggests you go for a swim. As you prepare to dive into the turquoise water, you suddenly see something swimming towards you. Is it a human? Is it a dog? On closer inspection you realise to your surprise that it is a pig.
This story could be true if you are sailing off the shores of Big Major Cay, one of 360 beautiful islands in a district within the Caribbean Sea known as the Exuma Cays. Big Major Cay is also known as Pig Island, for about 20 pigs and piglets live there. There are also some cats and goats, too.
No one knows how the pigs came to live on Pig Island. One story suggests that sailors dumped the pigs there. The sailors intended to return to eat the pigs at a later date, but they never came back. Another tale tells how the pigs were once kept as pets on another island but made such a terrible smell that they were moved to Big Major Cay where no one lives.
Whichever story you choose to believe, the fact remains that there are pigs on the island and they appear to be very happy. There are three freshwater springs on the island so there is no shortage of water. Other islands around Big Major Cay protect the pigs from storms. For food, the pigs soon learnt that many of the boats that sail past their island throw unwanted food into the sea. The waste food from the boats becomes the pigs’ breakfast, lunch and dinner.
When the pigs see small boats, they swim out to the boat in the hope that they will be given food. They can swim for over 100 metres, but they are at the boat only for the food. As soon as they have been given what they want, they return to shore and have no interest in socialising with humans.
The pink and brown coloured piglets appear to live well with the adult pigs, which weigh over 70 kilos. As the news of these incredible swimming pigs has spread around the world, the local tourism board has started promoting sightseeing tours to Pig Island, where visitors are able to see for themselves that pigs really can swim.
Meet the swimming pigs:
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