Sea Porker

by Sparkster on August 10, 2009

Vince, by way of our friends at National Geographic Traveler, captured this ultra-rare encounter with the fabled Sea Pig.

Out looking for a mid-afternoon snack, the sea pig was heard to remark, “you wouldn’t believe how buoyant I am…”

Would you mind rubbing this sand off my snout...

SNOUT-HANCE!

snouthance

Thanks for the tip, Chief Researcher Marilyn T. Vince L. took this shot near a small key famous for the “swimming pigs.” To capture this clear image Vince said, “I had to lure this pig into an undisturbed area with its favorite food: fresh watermelon.”

{ 59 comments }

1 Katja 08.10.09 at 9:12 pm

Love his dainty little piggy toes and the dusting of sand on his snout!

2 Theo 08.10.09 at 9:15 pm

Tempted to tag this “Unusual Fishes”… ;)

3 Not That Mike The Other Mike 08.10.09 at 9:17 pm

I wonder if this pig is related to Chicken of the Sea?

4 AuntieMame 08.10.09 at 9:18 pm

I’ve heard of sea lions and sea horses. And even chicken of the sea. But this is the first sea pig I’ve ever seen! We could have a whole underwater farm!

5 kibblenibble 08.10.09 at 9:20 pm

Love this peegie’s reddish hair and happy expression.. I don’t think we’ve met, Sparkster, but thanks for the Qte. :-)

6 Theo 08.10.09 at 9:31 pm

Kibble — that’d be Meg’s hubby.

7 kibblenibble 08.10.09 at 9:35 pm

Wow! Nice to meetcha, Meg’s hubby! :-)

8 Nikki 08.10.09 at 9:37 pm

“…Famous for its swimming pigs…” Really?! Who’d a thunk it? LOL. (Gorgeous photo btw.)

9 Jenna 08.10.09 at 9:59 pm

! Too, too cute!

And that water is absolutely gorgeous.

10 victoreia 08.10.09 at 10:10 pm

I hate it when the locals look better in the water than I do….

11 edward 08.10.09 at 10:51 pm

Pigs love to swim. There’s a type of Wagyu pork, made in Australia, where the pigs get the beer, just like the cattle, but have swimming pools instead of getting massages. They are the most fun-loving and interesting creatures.

There’s an old saying…dogs look up to us, cats look down at us, but pigs see us as equals.

There’s a book I highly recommend called ‘The Pig Who Sang To The Moon’, about the emotional lives of animals. It has a whole chapter on pigs.

12 ffleur 08.10.09 at 10:52 pm

Mz Pigglesworth hoofs it to the beach to retrieve her bikini. Damn, she sez, those paps are everywhere….

13 the bug man 08.10.09 at 11:03 pm

I think an “Unusual Fishes” tag would do quite nicely.

14 Starlinguk 08.11.09 at 1:35 am

Is key the American spelling of quay? Just wondering.

I wanna swim in that water too.

15 Maol 08.11.09 at 3:06 am

Awesome picture!

16 michelle 08.11.09 at 4:50 am

they are so smart and funny! thsi is such a great picture!!!oh i love my little pig so much, im so glad i came across this photo! of course my pig is cuter(i have to say that)shhhh:)

17 Janeyferr 08.11.09 at 5:02 am

:D meerschweinchen

18 Janeyferr 08.11.09 at 5:05 am

starlinguk: they use Key to mean a low lying island, like the florida keys, from the arawak Cayo,

19 Heather 08.11.09 at 5:16 am

I would like a dip that water…looks like Maui, Hawaii – are they preparing for a luau??
Swim, piggy, swim!

20 Amy 08.11.09 at 5:33 am

Aw, I want to take a dip in that beautiful water with the the cute little piggy ( who will not judge the way I look in a swim suit, right?)

21 Katrina 08.11.09 at 5:41 am

As I recall I bought this island along with a few other Peeps, a few months ago, when another swimming piggy photo was featured. Trespassers will……….

Snerk

22 janet2buns 08.11.09 at 5:43 am

As we swelter in a heat wave, this piggeh looks cool and comfortable. I want to go swimming with the piggehs!

23 Kristabelle 08.11.09 at 5:54 am

Cute little piggy!

This little piggy went to the market, this little piggy stayed home. THIS little piggy got to swim in a gorgeous ocean…sheesh! Wish I were there too!!!

24 pyrit 08.11.09 at 5:56 am

Ooooh, thank you for the swine cooler! Fuzzy navel flavor. My fave.

25 colleenincairns 08.11.09 at 6:07 am

oh i love it…I love it..a swimming Babe-fish. too cute.

26 Jenn in IL 08.11.09 at 6:17 am

The piggy is certainly adorable, but my eyes keep being drawn to the water…I want to be in that water. That looks like the most beautiful water ever!

27 gizmo 08.11.09 at 6:28 am

daaaa-dum (oink!)

daaaa-dum (oink!)

da-da da-da da-da da-da ,,,

Just when you though it was safe to go back in the water.

Snouts!

A new film by the nephew of the guy down the street from the cousin of the barber of Steven Spielberg’s brother.

Opening this summer!

28 Jezebel 08.11.09 at 6:30 am

Gizmo you are funny!

29 marthava 08.11.09 at 7:13 am

Redonk on every level. lol

30 MamaDawn 08.11.09 at 7:23 am

I’ve heard of unusual things happening when pigs fly… but when pigs swim??

31 Kar 08.11.09 at 7:44 am

Thank heavens Shark Week is over.

32 Kelsey 08.11.09 at 7:45 am

AKH! I’m dead. Pigs are soooo cute! My mom’s friend has a rescued (let’s see if i can get this right) “dwarf-teacup pot-bellied pig”. The pig was to be a designer pet miniature pig but the “dwarf” features that they don’t want showing up (large head, stubby legs, terrible hips) all showed up in her and they were gonna kill her, so she swooped down with her cape and saved her.
I love this pigture! What pretty fur, and OMG that pink nose is sooo kissable (minus yucky sand!) :D

33 Von Zeppelin 08.11.09 at 7:59 am

Salt pork.

34 Cori 08.11.09 at 8:07 am

Aqua piggle! >//////<
I wanna put this lil guy in my pocket and take him home with me.

35 Marilyn Terrell 08.11.09 at 8:21 am

ACTually, there is such a thing as a sea pig, very strange-looking critter recently discovered off Antarctica — a kind of sea cucumber:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/03/photogalleries/Antarctica-pictures/photo9.html

36 claudia 08.11.09 at 8:37 am

Awe piglet going for his daily roll in the sand and swim in tha bay.

37 Mary (the first) 08.11.09 at 9:00 am

Howdy to Sparkster, and thanks for the lovely photo of the piggeh.. it’s her dainty feets that drew my attention first.. and the beeeyoooteeful water!

38 Theresa 08.11.09 at 9:04 am

Is this one of the famous Bahamian beach pigs? Must be. This is a real thing! Google some combo of Bahamas, and swimming pigs, and you’ll get lots of pics!

39 Tiff 08.11.09 at 9:52 am

You can find those pigs on an island near Staniel Cay. They are absolutely adorable though they can be a tad pushy if you get a group of them following you.

40 chanpon 08.11.09 at 9:59 am

Oh man! I’m mesmerized by the water, and want to dive in so badly (and I don’t even swim!). This may be the first time the background is diverting my attention from the cuteness quotient of the animal.

41 Amelie 08.11.09 at 10:15 am

This is sucha quality picture. I want to see more. I agree with Chanpon. Beautiful

42 skippymom 08.11.09 at 10:24 am

Oh, man, it is sickeningly hot here today, and for some reason the air conditioning in this building never quite makes its way into my office, and I am trying to figure out how to climb into my monitor to get into that gorgeous water. AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!
Oh, and very cute piggie.

43 kibblenibble 08.11.09 at 12:19 pm

Yay, Snouthance!
Oh, now I see why you added the dash.
Okay: Yay, Snout-hance!

44 Theresa 08.11.09 at 2:39 pm

Kibblenibble, other wise, you might mistake it for the Fronsche word “Snouthance,” which is pronounced “snoothahns,” and which means . . . “snout-hance.” :mrgreen:

45 January 08.11.09 at 3:34 pm

I did not know that you lead a swimming pig with watermelon. Thanks for sharing.

46 kibblenibble 08.11.09 at 4:15 pm

Theresa: Tee hee :-)

47 Patito Gigante 08.11.09 at 7:30 pm

Yet another reason to keep a watermelon in your camera bag.

48 Fan 08.12.09 at 12:43 am

Stones!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! is that you? we met in the Bahamas a few years ago, good to see you again, looking good/ Bye for now
x

49 Alexa 08.12.09 at 1:02 am

Wow, where is this place? Great water!

50 Ruth 08.12.09 at 5:44 am

Awwwwww poor piggie, I wouldn’t encourage it into the water, SHARK BAIT !!!!!!!!!!!

51 Katrina 08.12.09 at 6:36 am

Theresa-too cute. I just love learning new languages!

52 Kate 08.12.09 at 3:12 pm

If the water doesn’t make you want to swim, the pig will!

53 Adrian 08.12.09 at 6:47 pm

*OMG* This bay of pigs looks like paradise indeed.

54 Joy Williams 08.13.09 at 1:34 am

Adorable!

55 Keith Eldred 08.13.09 at 9:46 am

Hog paddle

56 Wittney 08.14.09 at 5:17 pm

AWW THAT IS SO CUTE BUT KINDA STUPID A PIG COULD DO THAT!!! :)

57 lee 08.15.09 at 11:37 am

omg that water is like see teal blue

where is that?

58 deedlejuse 08.16.09 at 9:47 am

I don’t think I’ll ever eat pork again, just thinking of this shot!

59 Rayna 08.26.09 at 8:20 am

Sucha cuuuuuuuuuute piggeh! And in paradise (hog heaven???) too. Two of my favorite things together – pigs and the Caribbean.

BTW, I don’t know about suidae pigs, but MY pigs (cavia) LOVE watermelon rind (also cantaloupe and pineapple rind). Rum optional for parents only, not for baby piglets.

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