Swim with pigs Nassau Bahamas

Do not give the pigs any alcohol, soda or any beverage other than water.

• Do not feed the pigs, unless you are specifically given food by your tour guide. Most of the approved foods include bread and fruits or natural foods.
• Do not sit on the pigs.
  Please, no piggie back riding!
• Do not pull the pig’s tails.
• Do not steal any pigs. 
• Never feed a pig by hand. Make sure the food is removed from your hand before the pig gets to it as they can bite and are, otherwise, clumsy while eating.
• Stay close to the shore
• Let the pigs come to you, and don’t chase them down the beach. Remember that these are living creatures and not photo props.

Most of these items are obvious, but here’s what I recommend you bring to Pig Beach:

• Bathing Suit / Bikini
• Beach Towel / Sarong (it was great being able to cover up when we weren’t in the water – but a beach dress would also work)
• Camera or phone (fully charged, or with a portable charger)
• Waterproof case or pouch for your smartphone: While it’s possible to get off the boat and walk through the shallow water to Pig Beach, it’s not possible to get your phone inside Thunderball Grotto without getting it wet. While most iPhones are water resistant these days, remember that it’s still not advisable to get salt water inside the charging port, since salt is highly corrosive and will damage your phone.
• GoPro / underwater camera if you want to take underwater photos
• Sunscreen & sunhat (especially if you’re taking a long boat ride from Nassau – the sun is relentless and shade on the boats is very limited)
• Sunglasses
• Goggles if you want to snorkel with the pigs & sharks / take underwater photos or videos. Your tour operator will most likely provide them, but double check when booking the tour.
• Insect repellent (the mosquitos are quite aggressive!) – Amazon has several travel-sized bottles
• Water and snacks (most of the boat operators have water and snacks on the boat, but if you drink more water than average and you consider yourself a big snacker, I’d recommend packing extra of both)
• A sweater or a light jacket – it can get breezy on the boat, especially if you’re on a speed boat. We also got caught in a rainstorm, and I wished I had a long-sleeve shirt or a light rain jacket while it was raining.
• Cash or credit card if you want to buy something on one of the inhabited islands you stop at, and to tip your guide. Our tour included lunch on Staniel Cay, but alcohol wasn’t included. There are no ATM’s on any of the islands you’ll stop at, but credit cards are accepted in some places.

The swimming pigs have populated the island for decades, but their actual origin is somewhat of a mystery

How did the Bahamas Swimming Pigs get to Pig Island (Big Major Cay)?
Legend has it that farmers in Staniel Cay used to care for their pigpen right outside of Staniel Cay Village.
When the village people complained about the stench blowing into the village from the farm, farmers were forced to dial up a solution.
Their solution?– Moving the pigs to the nearby island of Big Major Cay (later known as Pig Island) where they would boat the pigs’ daily feed to them at the same time every day.Soon, the pigs picked up on the pattern; if they saw the boat, that meant their food was nearing.
It wasn’t before long the pigs began swimming to the boat to be the first ones fed. The farmers knew they had struck tourist gold and soon the island was seeing mass amounts of visitors like never before.

Other Folktales about the Swimming Pigs Exuma
One more popular story says the pigs were brought ashore by sailors as livestock. However, when a sudden seastorm approached, the sailors were forced to leave in a hurry and, therefore, leave the pigs on the island. It wasn’t until years later the swimming pigs Exuma attraction would be found by locals of the nearby Staniel Cay village.

Whichever story you want to believe in, no one knows the true origin and new folktales are still being told every year about how the swimming pigs Exuma got there.

In The Bahamas, we value our swimming pigs, and it takes a community effort to look after them.

Referred to as dedicated custodians of the swimming pigs, Bernadette Chamberlain and her husband John, restauranteurs on Staniel Cay, helped to establish several measures to keep them healthy.

The Chamberlain’s are among other locals who are devoted to ensuring the swimming pigs remain as a sustainable attraction.

Through a collaborative community effort with other local volunteers, the following initiatives were implemented:

Raised funds to purchase water tanks on the island and developed a guttering system to ensure the pigs receive enough freshwater, even at times when volunteers were not there to refill the tanks.
Built a nursery for the piglets to ensure they obtained proper care and nutrition after birth
Created separate pens for piglets and animals who are ill and need medical treatment, upon which a veterinarian from Nassau provides these services.
Featured signs that communicate rules and regulations to visitors. These consist of how visitors should interact with the pigs. The signage also educates visitors about the types of “pig approved” foods to feed them. These include fruits, vegetables, bread, and pig feed that can be purchased locally.
A trough was installed and acts as a designated place to feed the pigs so that they don’t ingest excess sand or saltwater.

In addition to local volunteers in Staniel Cay, Tour Operators who visit the area also look after them admirably by bringing them food and water.