The hogs of Ossabaw Island, off the coast of Georgia, are descendants of Spanish pigs brought to the New World over 400 years ago. They were small range pigs with prick ears, heavy coats and long snouts. Over time, some of the Spanish pigs escaped and became feral in southeastern forests. While most feral pigs eventually mixed with domestic pigs, the Ossabaw Island animals are an exception, having remained a distinct and isolated population. Thus they reflect their Spanish heritage more closely.

– "Breeds of Livestock", Oklahoma State University web site, 2008

On November 19, 2008, the headline of the Bermuda Sun proudly proclaimed: "Back after 300 years – authentic Bermuda hogs!" The timing might be a bit off, as the original swine probably infiltrated the island as early as 1505, when Juan de Bermudez and the complement of La Garza were apparently the first humans (with their constant shipboard companions, the pigs) to ever set eyes on Bermuda.

Even allowing for artistic, nay, journalistic, licence to spin truth into pink cotton candy, the tribes of hogs were probably extinct at 64 West and 32 North as early as 1620.

Those boars did not long survive the ethnic cleansing begun in earnest by the shipwrecked mariners of the Sea Venture, who carted some of them off to Jamestown, Virginia, in May of 1610, along with hundreds of cahow carcasses, the endemic species of sea bird that they also started to push to extinction. Other Bermuda boors survived the massacres and some of their descendants, in jumbled varieties of Native American, African, European and other groupings, might wish to hog the glory that they have remained in residence throughout the last 399 years.

The article outlines the achievement of farmer Tom Wadson of Luke's Farm in former wetlands in Southampton to "bring back the bacon" in the form of a remnant breed of Spanish boars, found on the isolated Ossabaw Island off the east coast of the United States.

Aside from providing us with a cholesterol-ful breakfast feast, Farmer Tom is apparently aiding endangered species propagation, for the "Ossabaw Island hog population is classified as Critical by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy".

Fewer than 200 of this breed of boar are available for multiplication on the US mainland, but it can be reported that they are a diverse group, exhibiting exterior characteristics in black, red, spotted black and white and tan, or brown. A full-white boar is apparently an extreme rarity, or perhaps impossibility, but I leave a verdict on that to one of those learned committees that sit in judgment on such species issues.

The Ossabaw hogs are of evolutionary interest, for their existence on a small island in isolation from other populations of boars resulted in features consistent with theories on development apart from wider world, as noted by scientists.

"As the pigs adapted to Ossabaw Island, they became yet smaller, a process called 'insular dwarfism'. They also had to adapt to the food cycle on the island, which provides little to eat during the spring season. As an adjustment, the Ossabaw Island hogs developed a unique biochemical system of fat metabolism, enabling them to store a larger proportion of fat than any other hog. In conjunction with this, they have a form of low-grade, non-insulin depend(ent) diabetes, making them excellent medical research animals."

Ossabaw Island shares some characteristics with Bermuda, but it is over twice as big at 26,000 acres. Presumably then, our "insular dwarfism" might be twice as reductive, but scientific advice from the Aquarium should be sought if that idea intrigues you. Ossabaw is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and in 1996 was on the National Trust's list of the top eleven most endangered historic places in the United States, a designation perhaps applicable to Bermuda.

The similarities end there, for people have inhabited Ossabaw for over 4,000 years and it "will never be developed", being gifted to the nation and designated as the State of Georgia's "first heritage preserve in 1978". So the ancestral Bermuda boars in that southern island are safe for the time being.

As is medically known, hogs are very close to humans in some respects and we share a long history with swine. Metaphorically, the association between people and pigs is longstanding: witness the rise to kingship of a certain creature in George Orwell's satirical Animal Farm, the "head pig", Napoleon, lording it over all, having learnt to walk on two legs along with all the other boars. The shipwrecked mariners of the Sea Venture hunted the local feral pigs in 1609-1610 to stay alive and that fact was important enough to warrant its inclusion in St. George Somers' map.

The first shareholders of the Bermuda Company were so entranced with the island boars that they made the first currency for an overseas territory with an image of a "hogge" on one side and a ship on the other, perhaps symbolising the dichotomy of land and sea in these parts. The settlers so disliked the money when it was introduced in 1617 that they called it "Hog Money" in derision. They probably knew what most people now do not. According to many today, the coins were silver plated, but scientific analyses by Heidi Leseur when at the British Museum in 1997 showed that they were coated in cheap tin. Hog Money is now worth far more than its weight in gold, as there are probably fewer than 200 examples in existence.

In the early 1990s, 19 such coins were found in archaeological excavations at Castle Island, one of which is thought to be the finest known specimen. Hog Money is on display at the Bermuda Monetary Authority museum and at the Maritime Museum.

The outstanding American artist, Winslow Homer, was taken by the legend of the Bermuda hogs and during a visit in 1901, he executed a painting of a herd of pigs in the primeval forest. The swine were probably more responsible for the extinction of the cahow on the main islands of Bermuda than were people, for that ground-laying bird presented a better organic egg breakfast than anything Farmer Tom is giving their descandants on the ranch today.

So don't be a boor about the history of Bermuda's indigenous population. Take a family outing to check out the boars at Luke's Farm, where the children will no doubt wish to hog the viewing area.

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Dr. Edward Harris, MBE, JP, FSA, Bermudian, is the Executive Director of the Bermuda Maritime Museum. This article represents his opinions and not necessarily those of persons associated with the Museum. Comments can be sent to drharrislogic.bm or by telephone to 799-5480.