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After hours of traveling through the islands and sand dunes of Exuma, visitors will have the opportunity to meet, explore and swim with the cute pigs, the most special residents here.
The pigs swimming on Pig Beach on Big Major Cay are considered one of the most iconic tourist 'icons' of the Bahamas. In 2018, an estimated 6.62 million visitors came to the island to join the adorable pigs in the turquoise waters of the tropical Caribbean.
Pig Beach is located on Big Major Cay, north of Staniel Cay in the Exumas archipelago of the southern Bahamas. Visitors can fly here from Nassau in less than thirty minutes and then take a ten-minute boat ride from Staniel Cay to reach the ‘residence’ of these adorable pigs. If the purpose of visiting this island is only to visit this island, visitors are best booked to land at the small airports of Staniel Cay or Farmer’s Cay, the two closest islands to Pig Island.
The herd of semi-wild pigs on the island has about 20 to 25 pigs of different sizes. The oldest in the herd is named Big Momma. Previously, this herd of pigs were the only 'residents' on the island, but today some people from other places have also moved here to live and develop tourism services here.
There are many theories about how the first pigs appeared on Big Major Cay. Some believe that the pigs were on a shipwreck of European explorers during a major storm.
The crew failed to reach shore, but the pigs survived and managed to swim to the mainland where they became the island's sole inhabitants. However, TR Todd, author of the book 'Pigs in Paradise', explains that most such stories are folklore in origin.
In fact, the people on the neighboring islands decided to move the smelly animals to a more secluded location. Big Major Cay was considered the perfect choice. It was far enough away that tourists wouldn’t see or smell the pigs, but close enough that the locals could catch them if they needed to.
David Hocher, owner of the Staniel Cay Yacht Club on neighboring Staniel Cay, said Big Major has another important resource: fresh water.
'Not every island around here has fresh water like Big Major. This island has the perfect elements to sustain life,' said Mr Hocher.
The tropical beaches of Big Major Cay are not the pigs’ natural habitat, so they initially roamed the island’s jungles and foraged for food. But in the 2000s, as tourism grew, the pigs began coming ashore to beg for food, and have since become completely tame with humans.
Visitors are not allowed to feed the pigs anything other than fruit, vegetables or bread. In 2017, several pigs died from swallowing too much sand. Officials recommend feeding the pigs underwater to avoid this.
The best time to swim with and feed pigs is early in the morning, before they get lazy and sleep on the sand.
In addition to being free to swim with the lovely pigs, visitors can also visit small cafes to rest in the sun, admire the beautiful blue sea, white sand and enjoy the peaceful, fresh space here.
According to Vietnamnet
