One of the Black Sheep’s much loved residents is Bessie, a 2 1/2 year old Captain Cook pig.
Bessie lives with her best friend Brian in the paddock nearest the entrance gate and acts as a kind of ambassador to visitors – she is always friendly and talkative and loves to interact with people! She will lie down for tummy rubs at the slightest suggestion and loves a good mud bath.
Bessie was caught in a trap by hunters as a piglet and was hugely fortunate to be rescued by a family who gave her a very loving start in life. Sadly because the valley they live in is frequented by hunters, they were concerned that one day an opportunistic hunter might shoot her, even though she was fenced and obviously a companion animal.
When we went to collect Bessie we saw the wonderful nest she had built for herself out of fern fronds and other gathered materials from the surrounding forest. Bessie has continued practising her nesting skills at the Black Sheep and will use anything she can get her mouth around – branches, straw, leaves and the like.
She can get quite bossy with Brian when she has made a new nest and sometimes Brian has to sneak in and quickly get settled in their nest before Bessie tells her off!
Once when we moved their house (which needs to be done regularly to reduce natural parasites), Bessie was so sad to leave her nest that she spent 3 nights sleeping outside in protest where the old house had been. Fortunately it was summer, and she eventually realised she still had the opportunity to build a new nest. She then got down to starting nestingagain!
Bessie lives with her best friend Brian in the paddock nearest the entrance gate and acts as a kind of ambassador to visitors – she is always friendly and talkative and loves to interact with people! She will lie down for tummy rubs at the slightest suggestion and loves a good mud bath.
Bessie was caught in a trap by hunters as a piglet and was hugely fortunate to be rescued by a family who gave her a very loving start in life. Sadly because the valley they live in is frequented by hunters, they were concerned that one day an opportunistic hunter might shoot her, even though she was fenced and obviously a companion animal.
When we went to collect Bessie we saw the wonderful nest she had built for herself out of fern fronds and other gathered materials from the surrounding forest. Bessie has continued practising her nesting skills at the Black Sheep and will use anything she can get her mouth around – branches, straw, leaves and the like.
She can get quite bossy with Brian when she has made a new nest and sometimes Brian has to sneak in and quickly get settled in their nest before Bessie tells her off!
Once when we moved their house (which needs to be done regularly to reduce natural parasites), Bessie was so sad to leave her nest that she spent 3 nights sleeping outside in protest where the old house had been. Fortunately it was summer, and she eventually realised she still had the opportunity to build a new nest. She then got down to starting nestingagain!