Waterfowl pigs. Big Major Cay Island: The world's only waterfowl resort. Sunny beach with a tunnel

The Bahamas are known around the world as "heaven on earth" for its beauty: nature, turquoise waters and sunny days ... But talk about landscapes fades into the background due to the appearance of not quite ordinary inhabitants on one of the remote islands of the archipelago.

How Pigs Came to the Bahamas

The fact is that not so long ago pigs began to live on the local shores. Although how they got there, no one knows.

Some think that they sailors brought who considered the vegetation of the island of Big Mayor Cay in the Bahamas to be excellent food for. However, the pigs were lucky: the sailors changed their plans, and they never returned for their pets.

According to another legend - pigs survived a shipwreck and managed to swim to shore.

Third, they fled the nearby islands.

According to another version, a pig on a desert island is a kind of business move to attract tourists to the Bahamas.

Be that as it may, now the island has become known only as "Pig". And now the pigs live here alone, eating what they get from tourists and other travelers sailing on yachts.

By the way, pigs have been living on this island for a long time, but they became seriously interested in their appearance there only in 2009, when photographer Erich Cheung and did his own research. It was then that the "pig phenomenon" became known to the general public.

Describes his impressions of pigs swimming in the ocean traveler Hillary Richard.

Looking for piglets

We sailed around the rocky corner of the Great Main Reef, taking in the surroundings. The sun-bleached cliffs contrasted beautifully with the white sand of the beach. Tall, fast-growing palm trees and shrubs diluted the blue blue watercolor of the Caribbean sea and sky. But where did THEY go?

I looked for any sign of movement - the rustle of palm trees, the rustle in the sand. But only the sound of the engine of our compact Boston boat interrupted the morning silence.

I started to worry that they knew we were here and that's why they didn't show up. Perhaps they fell asleep? Otherwise they would have heard us.

Suddenly the husband pointed towards the island. Something appeared at a distance of about 9 meters from us. The leaves of the bush moved: three large bodies crawled out of its thickets and immediately rushed across the beach with a goal that only they could understand.

They swept into the sea plunging into the water right up to the ears covered with fluff. Pink and brownish spots flashed in the turquoise waters of the ocean. And in just a few seconds, some centimeters separated me from three oblong muzzles - they fought their way out of the water, snorting and breathing deeply.

Here they are - pigs

Here are the pigs. To emphasize this moment of the meeting, the black-and-brown spotted pig, looking straight into my eyes, uttered such bloodcurdling and piercing squeal that I almost fell overboard with fear.

My husband, who spent his childhood on a farm, laughed for a long time after I asked him if such piggy emotions were normal.

So, somewhere in the Caribbean, we're relaxing on a boat with pigs floating and walking in the water around us, and I realize how "natural" it all is.

40 piglets

These animals are swimming pigs living in the remote Bahamas with the Exumas. Big Main Reef (Big Major) - one of 365 reefs among the Out Islands. Currently around 40 inhabitants call the island their home - and they are all pigs, except for the occasional rooster or lizard.

We were the only boat in the bay that day, and of course we became the center of attention for the pigs.

They swam in the style of "dogs" around the boat looking for leftover food.

The spotted pig opened its large mouth, and its huge teeth appeared there.

And another pig immediately joined her from the starboard side - they pushed each other under water (in anticipation of food, their mouths remained open).

What do swimming pigs eat in the Bahamas?

We arrived prepared. The cook from the nearby Yacht Club put together a fridge full of bread for us, leftovers from breakfast specially for the pigs.

With a laminated map of the islands, a packed lunch, a waste container and a waterproof camera, we set out across the seas in search of adventure. Just a few U-turns from Thunderball Grotto and Staniel Reef and we found them.

Pigs swim and posing for food but these are formalities.

They expect... - no, they insist on being fed, and they are not used to being disappointed.

It took me too long to open the refrigerator. Spotted Hryundel quickly understood the situation and decided to connect: he threw his front legs over the edge of our boat and tried to lean forward to climb aboard.

The boat jerked sharply down, and she swayed from the weight of the impatient animal.

I took the bread for just a few seconds when the second spotted pig, inspired by the example of the first, also decided to throw its front legs on the same side of the boat ...

I quickly tossed the bread crusts and leftover lettuce into their huge mouths. I stood close enough to see their sun-bleached lashes and spotted muzzles.

In the light, their ears were bright pink, with sunburn and insect bite marks. These smart cute creatures were livestock, here they felt freedom, and over time turned out to be completely tame. They turned away from the boat while they chewed their food and, before returning to the boat, first swam around it. The sun beat down mercilessly, we dropped anchor - and jumped into the water ...

It's incredible, even unrealistic - we swam with the pigs in a real paradise.

Based on materials from the English-language Wikipedia and site hub dot aa dot com/en/aw/bahamas-pigs-swimming

Big Major Cay is a small uninhabited island with a population of several dozen pigs and piglets on its western beach. It is to them that the island owes its name - Pig Island (Pig Island) Pig Beach (Pig Beach)

Bahamas, Big Major Cay Pig Island

�Our expedition went to the southern Bahamas to photograph the great white shark. Captain Jim Abernathy told me that there are wonderful piglets on an island, so we decided to go there and see them. We even managed to swim with them, they were very friendly - it is immediately noticeable that they are not in contact with people for the first time and do it without fear and even with pleasure�.

Bahamas, Big Major Cay Pig Island

Eric and his team not only swam with the pigs, but also took a series of photos, after the publication of which the Bahamian swimming pigs of Big Major Cay gained popularity in all corners of the globe: �Our team photographer Nadine Umbscheiden quickly hit it off with the pigs and had an impressive photo shoot with them. For this, we jokingly began to call her a pig charmer, but, to be honest, these photos turned out to be the most unusual and beautiful of all that were taken on that expedition.�

Bahamas, Big Major Cay Pig Island

Bathing with pigs - exclusive to the Bahamas

Among tourists swimming in the ocean with pigs in the Bahamas has become even more popular than the traditional swimming with dolphins for this region.=

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This is not surprising, since a wide variety of swimming programs with dolphins are offered in almost every Caribbean resort, while swimming pigs can only be found in the Bahamas, and Pig Island is practically the only place on earth where you can swim and then sunbathe on a snow-white beach next to real pigs =

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The pigs of Big Major Cay are always happy to have guests - they swim up to the boats that bring tourists to the beach of the island, communicate with tourists with pleasure and pose in front of photographic lenses in exchange for a treat.

Due to the constant bathing in the ocean, Bahamian pigs are exceptionally clean, so even close contact with them will not cause any discomfort.

Pigs of Big Major Cay - photo essay from Pigs Beach

Big Major Cay, Exuma Archipelago, Bahamas

Pig Island, Exuma Archipelago, Bahamas

Pigs Island (Big Major Cay), Exuma Archipelago, Bahamas

Pig Island on the map (Google Maps)

One of the most popular excursions offered to tourists in the Bahamas is a sea voyage to the shores of the Big Major Cay island of the Exuma archipelago (Big Major Cay, Exuma). Among tourists and travelers Big Major Cay is better known by another name - Pig Island.

The island has springs with fresh water, and larger neighboring islands reliably protect this place from the effects of tropical storms. Paradise island in the Bahamas, entirely owned by pigs. In such an unusual habitat for pigs, they themselves pigs in the Bahamas are also unusual - waterfowl, which attracts numerous tourists to the Isle of Pigs, vacationing in the resorts of the Bahamas.

Where do swimming pigs come from in the Bahamas?

The origin of the Big Major Cay pigs is not known for certain. There are several theories about how the pigs ended up on an uninhabited island in the Bahamas in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

According to one legend, the pigs were brought to the island by pirates who left the animals as a strategic food supply for the future. The pirates planned to return to the island soon, but these plans were not destined to come true, and the pigs remained to live on the island, having managed to adapt to new conditions.

Another legend says that a shipwreck occurred near the shores of Big Major Cay. Pigs were also transported on the ship in distress. The ship crashed on the reefs, and the animals were the only surviving passengers. Pigs managed to swim to the shores of a desert island, where they founded their colony.

There is a more prosaic version of the appearance of unusual waterfowl on a desert island near the fashionable Bahamian resorts: the pigs were brought to the island on purpose to attract tourists.

The most plausible of all is the hypothesis that pigs appeared on the small uninhabited island of Big Major Cay in the 90s, and this happened through the efforts of pig farmers from the neighboring inhabited island of Staniel Cay. The pigs were evicted from Staniel Cay to a deserted island due to numerous complaints about bad smells from the pigsties. There, the animals did not interfere with anyone, and their living conditions have changed significantly, which positively affected the hygiene of the animals.

Having found pigs on a desert island, the inhabitants of neighboring islands began to feed them. Animals quickly got used to the fact that people sailing to the island always bring them food. Having established a connection between the boats approaching the island and food, the pigs began to meet them, go deeper and deeper into the water, and then completely learned to swim.

Today, everyone swims in the pig population: both adult pigs and small piglets, which get used to water from childhood. As soon as they see boats or yachts approaching the island, the pigs joyfully rush towards them - right into the water.

The pigs are very friendly and are not at all afraid of either people or boats - they boldly swim up to them, often try to climb on board and take food directly from their hands.

How Bahamian waterfowl became famous

Waterfowl from the Bahamas gained worldwide fame in 2009. thanks to underwater photographer Eric Cheng.

Bahamas, Big Major Cay Pig Island

Here is how Eric Cheng describes his first encounter with these unique inhabitants of the Bahamas: �Our expedition went to the southern Bahamas to photograph the great white shark. Captain Jim Abernathy told me that there are wonderful piglets on an island, so we decided to go there and see them. We even managed to swim with them, they behaved very friendly - it is immediately noticeable that they are not in contact with people for the first time and do it without fear and even with pleasure

Trips

Do you think that beaches have become something ordinary for many, and nothing can surprise a simple tourist anymore?

1. Beautiful glass beach

Place: Hanapepe, Kauai County, Hawaii, USA

What's Special :N Despite the fact that the beach itself consists of only stones and basalt, it is covered with millions of particles of sea glass, which has been washed ashore for years.

Similar beaches can be found at Fort Bragg and Benicia, both in California.

2. Green sand beach

Place: Papakolea Beach, Cape Ka Lae, Hawaii

What's special: The sand at this location is brilliant green thanks to the rock-forming mineral olivine, which comes from an ash cone, a conical mound of bulk material ejected during a volcanic eruption.

It is one of four beaches in the world with bright green sand. Others can be found in the city of Talofofo, Guam, on the island of Floreana, in the Galapagos archipelago, and near Lake Hornindalsvatnet in Norway.

3. Star sand beach

Place: Iriomote Island, Japan

What's special: Most often, those who come to this beach can be seen bent over, as they are all interested in exploring this unusual beach, namely the intricate particles that make up the beach.

Star Beach is actually made up of the outer skeletons of foraminifera, microscopic marine organisms that have washed ashore for years. If you look closely, some organisms are still alive.

4. A beach that makes sounds

Place: Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, USA

What's special :P Before you get carried away by your imagination, know that the sounds on this beach come from friction between grains of sand. In fact, the sounds are more like a rattle than a melody as such.

One way or another, this beach is one of the main attractions of the area.

5. Sandy shell beach in the middle of a meadow

Place: Playa de Gulpiyuri, Spain

What's special: Imagine that you are walking in a meadow and suddenly stumble upon a sandy beach. If this happened, then you can only be in one place - Playa de Gulpiyuri.

Despite the fact that there is no ocean or sea nearby, the beach is actually connected by a network of complex underground waterways leading to the Atlantic Ocean.

6. Pink sand beach

Place: Harbor Island, Bahamas

What's special:All across the west coast of the Bahamas washed ashore blurred parts of red corals. They mixed with the sand and gave it a shade of pink.

7. Purple sand beach

Place: Pfeiffer Beach, Big Sur, California, USA

What's Special: E that extraordinary beach is painted in shades of purple. The color of the sand comes from nearby deposits of quartz and dark red manganese, which are stored in the rocks.

8. Beach of the Cathedrals

Place: Playa de las Catedrales/Praia de Augas Santas, Ribadeo, Spain

What's special: Magnificent geological formations create the effect of cathedrals throughout the Spanish beach. It can only be reached at low tide.

9. Maho - beach near the airport

Place: Saint Martin Island

What's special: The beach is in close proximity to Princess Juliana International Airport. Vacationers with one jump can touch aircraft flying over the beach.

10. Sunny beach with a tunnel

Place: Dunedin, New Zealand

What's special: Heading towards the beach, you will cross a private farm, after which you will have to go through a long, creepy tunnel before reaching your destination. On the shore you can see beautiful sandy cliffs, caves, a stone arch and other unusual stone formations of the Pacific Ocean.

11. Disappearing beach in India

Place: Chandipur beach, India

What's special: In the morning this beach disappears completely, as if by magic. At low tide, the water moves 5 km from the coast, allowing vacationers to walk along the coast and explore the seabed and some of its inhabitants - crabs, for example.

But as soon as high waves come to the fore, it is better for vacationers to leave the beach, because. the sea returns to its place. This phenomenon occurs twice a day all year round.

12. Hidden beach in Mexico

Place: Marieta Islands, Mexico

What's special: Named "Playa de Amor" (beach of love), this piece of paradise was actually created when the government The Mexican government at the beginning of the first decade of the 20th century decided to drop a bomb on this site.In doing so, it created a huge hole in the canopy of the cave.

Despite its terrible past, this place is quite welcoming, and the beach is just gorgeous.

13. Black Beach

Place: Punaluu, Hawaii

What's special: If you are tired of the usual beach, head to the island of Punaluu, where all the sand is black. Vacationers come here to sunbathe, but you are unlikely to want to swim, because. due to the many sources of fresh water in the region, the water here is quite cold.

And there are a lot of turtles that are protected by law. They come ashore to bask and also lay their eggs.

14. White Beach

Place: Hyams Beach, New South Wales, Australia

What's special: This beach was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as the beach with the whitest sand on planet Earth.

15. Rainbow Beach

Place: South East Queensland, Australia

What's special: The colorful sand dunes that surround the city give this beach 74 different shades. The colored sand is the result of erosion and iron oxide that have been occurring here for many years.

16. Beach with pigs in the Bahamas

Place: Big Major Cay, Bahamas

What's special: Big Major Cay is an island inhabited by a few wild pigs that often come out of the thickets to take a dip in the clear water. No one knows where they got the 20+ wild pigs from, but they certainly made this place interesting for tourists.

17. Scala Dei Turchi beach in Italy

Place: southern Sicily, commune of Realmonte, Italy

What's special: Scala dei Turchi is a series of steps made of white stones. These steps were formed due to the long-term effects of the waves.

If you walk through these places, you will most likely be covered with white limestone. But don't be alarmed, the locals say it's even good for the skin.

18. Whitehaven Beach in Australia

Place: Whitsunday Island, Australia

What's special: This beach not only surprises visually, it has also been voted the cleanest beach in the world.

The local beaches tend to have white sand containing large amounts of silicon dioxide, which does not retain heat, allowing visitors to safely walk barefoot on the beach on a hot sunny day.

19. Shell Beach

Place: L'Haridon Bight, Shark Bay, Western Australia

What's special: the entire coast is covered with a layer of shells. The thickness of this layer varies from 7 to 10 meters.

Because of the high salt content in the water, shellfish have no enemies. In such conditions, their natural predators cannot survive, so the mollusks breed here in large numbers.

20. Desert in Brazil that turns into a beach

Place: Lencois Maranhensis National Park, Maranhao state, northern Brazil

What's special: Every year at the beginning of the year, heavy rainfall occurs here, and water begins to fill the dunes in the desert of the national park. This is how beautiful turquoise lagoons in white sand are created.

In October, the water completely evaporates. And before that, if you look closely, you can see several varieties of fish swimming in the water.

Beaches of the world

Bonus:

Lagoon with black sand and ice blocks

Place: Jokulsarlon glacial lagoon, southeast Iceland

What's special: Blocks of ice, like brilliant crystals, are scattered along the black coast.

This place attracts many tourists. Movies and commercials are even filmed here. The ice here came from a nearby glacier, and the black sand from volcanic rocks.

Not everyone will agree with this, but pigs are quite adorable creatures. Of course, they are not the cleanest animals, but they are very cute, especially in childhood. All pig lovers will be pleased to hear that there is a small island dedicated specifically for pigs. It turns out that there is an island of pigs in the Bahamas, where these cute animals were discovered in 2009 by photographer Eric Cheng (Eric Cheng) and Captain Jim Abernathy (Jim Abernathy).

The official name of the island is Big Major Cay, but it is known to most as Pig Island. This island has a fresh water spring, and the surrounding islands protect it from tropical storms. This is the perfect habitat for pigs, who laze around the clock like little beach bums. They have fun in the water, swim together and show their rowing skills to visitors with pleasure. It is interesting how pigs originally appeared on the island. Rumor has it that several sailors sailing past the island a few years ago decided to leave some pigs on the island and turn the place into a secure and secret source of food. Luckily for the pigs, the sailors never returned. The animals did not have to worry about food, as sailing yachts often throw excess food into the sea. The pigs seem to already know when their next delivery of food will be, and as soon as they spot a yacht on the horizon, they happily fly into the sea. They swim as close as possible to the ship, hoping to get the most delicious pieces of food.

Photographer Eric Cheng says "I was in the southern Bahamas photographing long-winged sharks" when the captain of his boat told him he had heard there were pigs on Big Major. They dropped everything and went to the island to look at the curiosity. To their surprise, the rumors turned out to be true. “When approaching a white sandy beach, it’s easy to spot pigs (pink and dark brown) lying on the sand,” says Cheng. “Due to the fact that the local population brings them food, the pigs run into the water and swim up to the boats to personally greet the people. Pigs lying on a tropical beach are already a strange sight, but when they run into the water to greet the boats, the sight becomes simply incredible. Cheng and his team have taken many pictures with pigs, and in recent years they have become quite popular. The team even took a swim with the pigs. “Nadine Umbscheiden, one of the photographers, became so friendly with the pigs that she even got to swim with them,” says Cheng. “We named her ‘Pig Talker’ because she could make pigs swim towards our cameras!” Apart from pigs, no one else lives on Big Major.

This is not the first time any habitat has been completely taken over by a particular species. You may have heard of Rabbit Island in Japan or a Brazilian island full of snakes.

And I still thought at one time, where did so many photos of pigs in the sea on a snow-white sand come from on the Internet? What kind of events are these? And it turns out like...

On the island of Big Major Cay (Bahamas) people do not live, but this place was chosen by ... domestic pigs. Passengers on ships sailing near the island can often watch pink piglets and their already tanned parents basking in the sun on a sandy beach.

There are many versions of how these animals got to Big Major Cay. Some say that the pigs were brought to the island by sailors who planned to return to it later and use the pigs as food. But the sailors did not return, and the pigs remained to live on the island, eating everything that was thrown from passing ships. According to another assumption, the pigs survived the shipwreck and managed to swim to the shore of Big Major Cay. It is also believed that the pigs sailed from nearby islands. And according to the modern version, pigs are just a way invented by businessmen to attract tourists to the island.

Which of these versions is reliable is still not clear, but it is known for sure that the local residents of neighboring islands fed these animals. So, for years these people have come to Big Major Cay to feed the pigs. And after some time, just seeing the ship, the animals began to rush into the water and swim towards their breadwinners. The pigs that live on Big Major Cay today do the same with tourist boats.

Interestingly, the pigs from the "paradise" island inspired the writer Jennifer R. Nolan to write a book about them for children ("The Secret of Pig Island"). The book contains fictional funny stories of pigs from the island of Big Major Cay and their photographs, as well as talks about how unpredictable and amazing the nature of our planet can be, and how important it is to preserve it.

These cute animals were discovered in 2009 by photographer Eric Cheng and Captain Jim Abernathy.

Despite the fact that the pigs live here wild, they are very friendly. They meet people, joyfully grunting, deftly swim up to the boats and beg various goodies from tourists. And they can’t refuse them, because piglets from Big Major Cay are very cute, and unlike domestic pigs, they are very clean, thanks to regular bathing in the sea. In addition, the pigs are used to the fact that people sail to their shore with noble intentions and not empty-handed: they are regularly fed by specially hired residents of the Bahamas, as well as yachts and tourist boats passing by - there have always been plenty of people who want to admire the local miracle of nature. Some piglets are so familiar with human society that they jump into the boat if it comes close to the shore, and with their whole appearance they show that they want treats and that they scratch their tummy. True, the pigs are most willing to get acquainted in the late afternoon, when it becomes not so hot, and they come out of the forest with the whole community to lie on the sand and swim in the sea.

Tourists not only willingly feed the pigs, but also swim with them in the water, take pictures, sunbathe. Children are especially happy with such a company. After all, where else can you freely frolic on clean sand with the same clean pink, brown and red piglets who can swim like a dog?

As soon as they see tourists, they immediately swim up to yachts and boats and beg people for delicious food. And of course they do, how can tourists resist looking into these kind pig eyes. Pigs have been living on these islands for more than one generation, piglets are accustomed to water from childhood and can swim on a par with adults without any problems.