Tag Archives: Mango

A wild pig snacks on mangoes

If yesterday’s post was a hog in name only, today’s is the real thing.

It’s mango season again. While the tree in the yard isn’t quite as bountiful as last year, it’s still dropping mangoes often enough to make me cringe when I walk under its canopy. I try to pick up the fruit on a daily basis, but don’t always succeed. Not that it remains on the ground long.

Fallen mangoes are a draw to numerous birds, which can be seen pecking away most times I look out of the window. And, of course, the wild pigs love them. They usually visit overnight and all I see of their visit is a littering of chewed mango pits.

This pig was an early morning visitor, but still around well after sunrise. When I saw it, I got my camera, eased out of the back door, and started snapping. I never know how creatures will react to my presence. Some, such as grey francolins, scurry off as soon as they think something’s going on. This pig, on the other hand, didn’t seem too bothered, snuffling her way across the yard in my direction until she looked me in the eye and decided enough was enough, scooting through the hedge into the neighbor’s yard.

Notice, in the second photo, the mango lipstick on the pig.

Wild pig

There’s a sizeable wild pig population on the Big Island and they can be both problematic and dangerous. A while back, a local woman was attacked by a boar in her garden. She got seriously gored as well as having her leg broken.

This one was puttering around the yard in the early morning, snacking on fallen mangoes. It took him a while to notice me, but when he did, he took off at speed.

The numbers around here have dropped since hunters began making regular visits and when I do hear the pigs moving about, they’re being a good deal more cautious than they used to be.

Mangoes down, mangoes down

I posted here about the progression of our mango tree from flowers to fruit. Here’s what happens when the trade winds pick up after a couple of calm days. The lawn was empty a couple of hours before this photo, and this is just one segment of the windfall, probably about a third of what fell in that time frame.

Something had already eaten the mango in the front. It could have been a wild pig, but was more likely birds getting to the fruit while it’s still on the tree.

Mangoes

In February this mango tree was in full bloom (top). Those blooms have become the bevy of fruit below. When the wind blows the thud of falling mangoes is a constant sound. I tend to duck my head into my shoulders walking under the tree.

It’s a twice a day routine to pick up the fallen fruit, or the wild pigs will make short work of them.

Graham's Island

Life on the Big Island of Hawaii