"Why Is Merisi Hanging OutWith Us Wooly Pigs?"
Suspicious Mangalitza Pig
14 December 2009
Neusiedler See - Seewinkel National Park
Where The W
Only an Hour South of Vienna
Burgenland
Some pigs don't go to market,
but live in a National Park instead!
Image and Text
© by Merisi
Would you like to see more of these sweet wooly friends of mine? ;-)
ReplyDeleteWhat a handsome pig, I say!!
ReplyDeleteMight you secure me some pig wool?
Happy Holidays to you Merisi!
xox
Constance
In Ein Wiener Salon a few months ago Felix was struggling to describe – in English – the dish on the menu. The best he could do was ‘Woolly Pig’. It might have indeed been pig – but was thankfully devoid of wool - and was wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThey are on display for a reason, no?
ReplyDeleteThat is Some Pig! Too cute!
ReplyDeleteAnd I just visited the national park site with the white donkeys and grey long horned cattle and the Prezwalski's horses (which I haven't spelled correctly). Thank you, Merisi!
ReplyDeleteLakeviewer,
ReplyDeleteif you click on the picture you will be taken to the National Park's webpage:
"The National Park combines habitat management work with the preservation of traditional domestic animals and uses traditional and endangered species on its pasture land. Hungarian longhorns (Grey cattle), Water buffalos, White donkeys and Mangalitza-pigs were very common in past centuries. Breeding these species in National Parks and zoos is an important contribution for preserving them. The Przewalski's Horses graze here thanks to the co-operation between the National Park and the Vienna Zoo."
Vicki,
ReplyDeletewe crossed each other in cyberspace!
Cheers,
Merisi
Clicking on the "Burgenland" label at the end of this post will lead you to more posts from the National Park there (this last, the pig post, will show up again too, just scroll past it, please).
ReplyDeleteMerisi, this post is a surprise and a delight. Even the Viennese pigs have that elegance ... or could it be your photography that casts the spell?
ReplyDeleteRecently, I suggested to the staff at the shop that we might have fun visiting the Bronx Zoo. I received a pause in the atmosphere, followed by baffled stares. And someone giggled.
Ah well. Though captive animals might not be bliss, I do think that most zoos treat their residents very well.
xo
Not the typical sort seen on Merisi's pages, but charming nontheless. I've never seen a woolly pig before. I think they would do well in the cold winters of eastern Canada, in their natural woollen underwear.
ReplyDeleteI love pigs--they're great creatures. Unfortunately, being of Austrian descent, I also love bacon, ham, and pork Schnitzel...
ReplyDeleteAh, all he or she needs now is a red bow around it's neck
ReplyDeleteWonderful looking pig! For a moment there I thought someone had crossed a Yorkshire with a hairy variey of hog.
ReplyDeletemakes me think of pork chops. Sorry but it's true.
ReplyDeleteCharles,
ReplyDeletesad, but true: Great chops, indeed! ;-)
More about the Wooly Pig (Mangalitza or Mangalitsa) can be learned here:
An Old Breed of Hungarian Pig Is Back in Favor ("Mangalitsas were bred for their lard on the Hungarian farms of Archduke Joseph in the 1830s. Herds shrank with the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire ..." click on the link to read the New York Times article by Michael S. Sanders).
More at Wikipedia!
That's some porker there! I have never seen a woolly pig before, I had no idea such a creature even existed (smile).
ReplyDeleteMust say...I love that picture
ReplyDeleteI'm with Francis, even your pigs are clean and painterly and beautiful. XX
ReplyDeleteLucky pig, living in such security away fromj the bacon factory :-)
ReplyDeleteSounds as though it would be impractical to shear the woolly pig (because the breeders get rich on their meat), but that fur looks so lush!
ReplyDeleteMargaret,
ReplyDeletethe meat may be more expensive,
but these pigs have a much longer and healthier life than those who end up on supermarket shelves.
The taste is a world of difference too!
I don't think the farmers get rich(er), but we as a consumer have more choices, quality versus quantity, and animals that have a better life.
often in our bicycle or bike tours we stop by these guys :)!
ReplyDeleteLara,
ReplyDeleteevery time I manage to get to Burgenland, I make sure to visit my friends there. ;-)
I have never seen a wooly pig before. Quite fascinating.
ReplyDeleteso lovely with big head but small eyes :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a big cutie this sweetie is! I love him!
ReplyDeletexo,
Betty
Now, this is definitely my kinda pig!
ReplyDelete