06 May2008
No, this isn’t a post on the porcine equivalent of the Jonestown massacre. I just thought that all of the seafood posts lately have been so healthy, and I was concerned that bonafide pork lovers, like commenter “Lee” from Bacolod, might be having pork withdrawal syndrome, so I decided to skip a few posts and do this one on a bunch of pigs that we walked into in the “backwoods” of Malapascua island. It was mid-morning and a bit warm, but under a grove of coconut trees, in the shade and on dark sand, about 8 pigs were napping and resting in their shallow and self made sand wells…
It seems that pigs naturally like to wallow in mud. They apparently are unable to cool themselves off by panting or sweating (a lot), so the water cools off their bodies, the mud wards off insects and their bites, and more importantly, acts as a sort of sunblock for their highly sensitive skin. So the description “sweating like a pig” is actually an oxymoron as pigs don’t really sweat all that much. But on Malapascua, these pigs weren’t in mud baths. Instead, they picked shaded sandy areas and they dug out little wells in the sand to cool off instead. Frankly, they looked really happy while snoozing away. The perfect size for a nice lechon, if you ask me.
I read somewhere that pigs are really quite intelligent, but I still don’t think I would have one as a pet. They can get rather aggressive and despite their intelligence, if left out in the wild, they can turn nasty. These guys were pretty docile, however and I was able to approach them to take several photos. It’s really kind of odd, but it seems that all of them smile in their sleep… Up next, a great pork dish, of course!
COMMENTS:
Maria Clara, says:
They are happy lounging in their natural habitat rather than in a man-made pen! I heard it before for a filthy person “was raised in a pig-pen.”
May 6, 2008 | 9:58 am
Booey, Philippines says:
Hahaha… i love your pictures, the pigs look so content! Im a big pig lover, but not as lechon, hahaha…
May 6, 2008 | 10:26 am
kate, Philippines says:
ang cute! ahahaha natuwa ako. :)
May 6, 2008 | 10:29 am
Lyna, says:
i remember the expression: fat lazy pig!
May 6, 2008 | 10:37 am
mackenzie, says:
They are too cute to eat :)
May 6, 2008 | 10:49 am
fried-neurons, United States says:
pigs are so cute :)
May 6, 2008 | 10:52 am
Jdawgg, United States says:
lechon time marketman, get fire going with all those dried up coconut husk around the pig pen, they make a great charcoal for making lechon. actually that’s the best it’s better than “uling”.
May 6, 2008 | 10:55 am
Jdawgg, United States says:
Hey Marketman,
That reminds me you haven’t done any lechon recipe. I remember requesting for it many, many moons ago. He he whenever you can please, I’m dying to try my Big Johns Grill that I’ve purchase two years ago. The motorized spit can hold up to 120 lbs of an animal. Check it out http://www.bigjohngrills.com
May 6, 2008 | 11:00 am
Marketman, Philippines says:
jdawgg, I actually witnessed a lechon from live baby pig to the entire cleaning process, stuffing, cooking, etc. But I am saving it for a book, if I ever finally get my act together…. :)
May 6, 2008 | 11:03 am
joey, Philippines says:
They are so cute!!! Pigs are perfect :) Can’t wait for the next post ;)
May 6, 2008 | 11:04 am
CecileJ, says:
Cute nga! Makes me sad to think they’re ending up as lechon or adobo or sinigang! :(
May 6, 2008 | 11:10 am
Chris, Philippines says:
First time I’ve seen pigs wallowing in sand. Makes for a cleaner looking pig.
May 6, 2008 | 11:19 am
rocoi, says:
aaawww adorable! ;)
May 6, 2008 | 11:42 am
Ellen, Australia says:
Seeing the pigs relaxing made me smile =) although I couldn’t help imagine a couple of them with an apple each in their mouths and slowly roasting over a coal pit…hehehe…yummy lechon *drooling*
May 6, 2008 | 11:42 am
consol, says:
I believe there’s a breed of pig — called the pot-bellied pig — that some people actually keep as pets.
Here’s some information on them:
http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/potbelliedpigs/a/pbpexpect.htm
And some photos:
http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/photogalleries/l/blphpigs2.htm
P.S. I like Hammie and Yolanda (in the previous page) :-)
And Bailey and Miss Holly here are sooo cute!
http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/photogalleries/l/blphpigs3.htm
Oh and have you forgotten Babe?
Oink!
May 6, 2008 | 12:12 pm
jules winnfield, Philippines says:
now these are ultimate stress-free pigs!!! those smiles just tell of the awareness that they’re not trotting down a slaughterhouse plank anytime in their future –at all. the thought of knowing they’ll forever be pigs and not pork…. now if only a coconut happened to fall on the head of one of them, get a fire started mm….
May 6, 2008 | 1:18 pm
pecorino1, Thailand says:
Your best post yet! :-)
May 6, 2008 | 2:19 pm
Lei, Philippines says:
for the nth time..that picture of a pig smiling is so cute….hahhahahh!!!!
May 6, 2008 | 4:30 pm
risa, India says:
Hi MM,
The post gave me a shock! I had just come from other sites talking about the deaths in a Myanmar cyclone, 9 were wiped away by an errant wave in South Korea and thousands sick with foot, hand and mouth disease in China. I opened your site for a “break” so to speak and saw the prone piglets. I thought they were all dead waiting in their shallow graves!
I’m just so happy to see them alive and apprently sleeping in the cooler sands.
Hay!
May 6, 2008 | 4:35 pm
carina, says:
they shine! hahaha. cute.
May 6, 2008 | 5:13 pm
wyatt, Philippines says:
Pigs have no sweat glands. The only to cool them is through their snout. Hot summer months would sometimes cause off feeding, lower weight gain, eventually seasonal infertility so we have higher pork prices during Christmas season.
May 6, 2008 | 5:56 pm
elaine, Philippines says:
I love anything with pig designs, that’s about it…never liked getting near a live one, though…But I’m sure looking forward to your pork dish…cute pics of pigs!
May 6, 2008 | 7:12 pm
solraya, Philippines says:
Have you had naturally raised pigs? The ones that eat grass, forage on vegetables? Not given commercial feeds. They taste great.
May 6, 2008 | 7:30 pm
ging, Philippines says:
dogs look up to humans;
cats look down on humans;
PIGS LOOK AT HUMANS AS EQUALS!
May 6, 2008 | 8:25 pm
TPS, says:
The big-bellied one on the foreground of the first picture is the cutest!!! But their cute factor certainly won’t do anything to prevent me from eating pork. Adobo…hmmm…
May 6, 2008 | 8:28 pm
Apicio, Canada says:
I just finished my first reading of the Perfumes the Guide of Luca Turin (Emperor of Scent) and Tania Sanchez which opened the chapter on Feminine Fragrance with: “The question that women casually shopping for perfume ask more than any other is this: “What scent drives men wild?” After years of intense research, we know the definitive answer. It is bacon.”
May 6, 2008 | 8:54 pm
t2marc, Philippines says:
your pics about the pigs reminds me those days when i was still a young boy when we had a piggery in our backyard . . taking care of pigs is really enjoyable . .i really miss those moments
May 6, 2008 | 9:52 pm
Dale, says:
They ARE really cute, but tasty overrules cute any day in my book… Fire up the pit!
May 6, 2008 | 9:54 pm
MRJP, United States says:
Oh my God! Thank God they’re alive! I thought they were some dead pigs at first, like they died of some epidemics or something hehehe…
May 7, 2008 | 12:42 am
Rebecca, United States says:
Apicio- there is a Taco Bell commercial where two girls at a bar hide tacos containing bacon in their purses as a way of attracting men. A couple of guys come up to them wanting to know what the “alluring fragrance” is. LOL.
I think George Clooney has a pot bellied pig as a pet.
May 7, 2008 | 2:14 am
natie, United States says:
yeah, george clooney has a pot bellied pig.
May 7, 2008 | 3:10 am
Jdawgg, United States says:
Hey Marketman,
If you ever do the book thing. Please make sure to reserve me one + count me in to donate a little something to your charity. Peace
May 7, 2008 | 6:16 am
dhayL, United States says:
oh boy they love to get down and dirty!
May 7, 2008 | 7:36 am
wysgal, United States says:
I have read a lot as well that pigs are really intelligent. And thus actually get heartbreakingly depressed when subjected to terrible conditions in farms where they’re caged and can’t move around.
And oh how adorable they look in the photos …
May 7, 2008 | 11:43 am
leticia, Italy says:
my four kids and i love pigs.
i remember when they were small and we went to stay for 2years in my house along the beach in pandan, antique.
we have this beautiful pig who walks around the house very gracefully. my kids would give her a bath, using dove soap, everyday.
they called her DOVIE BEAMS!
Jun 13, 2008 | 1:00 am
Marketman, Philippines says:
leticia, DOVIE BEAMS???, I love it. :)
Jun 13, 2008 | 2:07 am
iCharles, Philippines says:
Tub of lards, literally…
Oct 31, 2009 | 5:07 pm
emsy, Philippines says:
Ang cute! And they have their own little “beds” too! Sometimes I wish I were just a pig that can wallow all day and be fed and just be my porcine self…but the fantasizing stops when I get to the point where they’re all fat and get slaughtered. haha
Nov 18, 2009 | 8:24 am