Pig Beach

Big Major Cay
Nickname: Pig Beach

Pigs swimming in the Bahamas.
Geography
Location the Americas
Archipelago Exuma Cays
Total islands 1
Major islands 1
Administration
Capital city Nassau
Largest settlement Nassau (pop. 248,948; as of 2010)
Prime Minister Perry Christie

Pig Beach[1] (also known as Pig Island,[2] Major Cay,[3] and officially Big Major Cay[4]) is an uninhabited island (or cay) located in Exuma, the Bahamas, and known for being populated by many swimming feral pigs.

Geography and features

See also: Exuma Cays

Exuma is a district of the Bahamas, and consists of over 360 islands.[5] Near Big Major Cay is Staniel Cay.[6] There are three freshwater springs on the island.[6]

Anecdotal history

The pigs are said to have been dropped off on Big Major Cay by a group of sailors who wanted to come back and cook them. The sailors, though, never returned; the pigs survived on excess food dumped from passing ships.[2][7] One other legend has it that the pigs were survivors of a shipwreck and managed to swim to shore, while another claims that the pigs had escaped from a nearby islet.[8] Others suggest that the pigs were part of a business scheme to attract tourists to the Bahamas. The pigs are now fed by locals and tourists[9] and the island is unofficially known as Pig Beach by the locals.[10]

Demographics and fauna

Big Major Cay is an uninhabited island.[11] The island is home to approximately 20 pigs and piglets.[8] A few stray cats[12] and goats[13] can be found on the island too.

Getting There

Staniel Cay is the closest island with an airport with local tour guides readily available to make the short trip. Great Exuma has the closest international airport (Exuma International Airport) with direct flights from Canada and the USA. Nassau is approximately 77 nautical miles away, a 2-hour boat trip or a 35-40 minute flight.[14]

In popular culture

Jennifer R. Nolan's children's book, The Secret of Pig's Island (Ocean Education Publishing, 2010), centers around "[...] a boy who hears about an island inhabited by swimming swine, and goes to visit the pig paradise on his own."[15] Popular children's author Sandra Boynton wrote a song about Pig Island for her book of children's songs, The Dancing Philadelphia Chickens.[16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ripley's Believe It or Not! Annual 2013. ISBN 978-1-60991-032-7.
  2. 1 2 "Beach Babe: The happy pigs that love to swim in the Caribbean (and we're not telling porkies)". Daily Mail. January 25, 2011. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  3. ↑ The Bahamas - Guidebook Chapter: Chapter from Caribbean Islands travel guide book (6 ed.). Lonely Planet. 2012. ISBN 9781743210826.
  4. ↑ "Swimming with Pigs". The Island of the Bahamas. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Exuma". The Official Website of the Government of the Bahamas. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  6. 1 2 Susannah Cahalan (January 30, 2011). "Pig Kahuna is 'bacon' on own island". New York Post. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Lucky swines have own island". The Sun. January 24, 2011. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  8. 1 2 Greaves-Gabbadon, Sarah. "Best Bahamas Trips: Swim with Pigs in the Exumas". Caribbean Travel Magazine. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  9. ↑ Moorhouse, Austin E. (2004). Halcyon Days: From A Dream To Reality. Trafford Publishing. ISBN 9781412016650.
  10. ↑ "Pigs swim in sea in Bahamas". The Telegraph. July 16, 2009. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Swimming Pigs of Big Major Cay". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  12. ↑ Frommer's ShortCuts (2012). The Exumas, Bahamas: Frommer's ShortCuts (2 ed.). John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781118470343.
  13. ↑ McRae, Mavis (May 23, 2012). "The Bahamas' Wild Pigs Meet Dr. Sylvia Earle And Mission Blue (PHOTOS)". Huffington Post. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  14. ↑ http://www.harboursafaris.com/swimming-pigs-from-nassau/
  15. ↑ "Pigs in paradise on the Caribbean's swine island". msn. January 25, 2011. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Boyton Music".

Coordinates: 24°11′01″N 76°27′23″W / 24.18361°N 76.45639°W / 24.18361; -76.45639

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