Gimpy is the disabled member of the family. Having contracted Brucellosis when he was a piglet. With the easy personality of a piglet, Gimpy grew up happy and playful. Unfortunately, Gimpy was captured, castrated and injured by hunters, which forever changed his outlook on his life. Yet he has overcome his mobility limitations and has taken on the role as guardian of three orphan piglets.

Read Gimpy’s Story here.

Brownie was bitten by a venomous snake when she was young and was nearly euthanized. But she showed her strength and overcame the pain and recovered. Brownie and her sister Piglet were the first of the older piglets to become mothers. Both being very compassionate and very good mothers. Brownie contracted Brucellosis after her first litter and the disease took her from a healthy 125 pounds down to about 45 pounds. It also crippled her, twisting her back leg in a constant pained position.  Brownie still suffers from horrible back and leg pain, and migraines so bad she just stops and stares for long periods of time. 

Read Brownie’s Story here.

Big Sis, Little Man, and Little Sister were all orphaned on the same day when they were separated from their birth mothers by trespassing hunters. Fortunately they found each other and somehow found Gimpy. We were surprised when Gimpy returned after days away, still hurting from his encounter with the hunters and his castration, with the three piglets in tow. Gimpy grew up overnight it seemed, as he became their guardian and their herd leader. These piglets are now healthy and happy, and help take care of Gimpy while he takes care of them. But they are still very young and will certainly suffer from Brucellosis. In a few months Big Sis and Little Sister will reach early breeding age and will fall under the harassment of the mature boars. Alongside Gimpy, we hope to give Little Man, Little Sister and Little Brownie a better life.

Read Gimpy’s Orphans Story here.

Limpy was one of Miss Piglet’s first litter.  When injured as a piglet, she earned the name Limpy.  Piglet took her everywhere she went and brought her to us to give her extra food and treatment.  This established a relationship that transcended the relationship we had with Miss Piglet. Limpy learned a lot of human words and even learned how to “sit” for treats.

Read Limpy’s Story here.

White Foot is one of the original piglets along with his deceased brother Big Red and CoCo. Even though he was the runt of the litter, he was always more aggressive and wanted to play-fight with every pig, including the big boars and his father the giant boar Godfather Pig. This earned him a place as the future leader of the pack. Whitefoot and Miss Piglet would also follow the researcher humans, especially Mr. Keith, to see what they were doing. He developed a special trust with Keith that is described  as: “I know I can kill you at any moment and you can kill me, so let’s be allies”.  This resulted in a long standing pig-human friendship that yields unique adventures and encounters. Not everyone has a 400 pound wild boar that visits with you as you fish.

Read White Foot’s Story here.

Mr. Whiskers was the #1 Boar until the giant Godfather Pig showed up. Then he politely stepped aside without a fight. He returned after Godfather Pig continued on his journey (wherever that was leading him) and held the #1 Boar position for two and half straight years, until White Foot finally beat him in combat.  Mr. Whiskers is so named because of his dark black muzzle and long “whiskers” on his light tan face giving him a distinctive look he inherited from Godfather Pig.

CoCo has a dark chocolate coat and stubbed tail which sets her apart from the other pigs.  She was chosen by Security Pig and her mother Big Mama to be the next Security Pig, but did not like the role and instead fought her way to become the #1 sow. CoCo left with Fat Mama and has not been seen since. Her daughter, Little Sister was separated and became one of Gimpy’s Orphans.

Read CoCo’s Story here.

Fat Mama is very food centric. She grew to be twice the size of the other sows. Her daughters are Fawnie and Dot. Fat Mama flew into a rage when Gimpy was castrated and took the females and piglets and has not been seen since. Her daughter, Big Sis, was separated and became one of Gimpy’s Orphans.

Big Red was one of the original piglets we first met. A full brother to White Foot, he was bigger and destined to be the strongest and leader of his litter and possibly the pack.  But White Foot was more aggressive and play-fought Big Red constantly to hone his skills and learn how to beat him in a real fight.  Big Red realized he was not cut out for the role as #1 boar but could serve as White Foot’s lieutenant instead. His role became one of stopping fights of the younger pigs and to jump in and protect White Foot if he was fighting a larger boar and potentially losing.  Big Red liked Ms Jane and loved Security Pig.

Read Big Red’s Story here.

Security Pig was one of the original pigs we first met.  In her role as the Security Pig, she stays on the outskirts of the sounder/group and listens and looks for potential threats.  If a threat was detected, the Security Pig would sound the alarm, and unlike the others in the pack that run away, would head directly to the threat to challenge it and if necessary fight it or lead it away from the pack.   This is a critical position in the herd requiring a smart and fearless female. Security Pig contracted Brucellosis and came back to the facility to die.

Read Security Pig’s Story here.

Fawnie was a beautiful pig.  She had a perfect deer brown coloration with white legs, belly and tail.  She looked every bit like a white tailed deer.  Because she loved to run everywhere and with her coloration, we named her Fawnie.  Fawnie loved being a mother, although she kept her distance form the human researchers, she would allow her piglets come for treats under her watchful eye. Fawnie contracted Brucellosis and in March 2026 brought her new litter of pigs to the facility.  It was evident to us that Fawnie was gravely ill and came home to die.

Read Fawnie’s Story here.

Raven was a single piglet, born to Mean Mama.  Mean Mama is the largest sow and is bigger than most boars.  We knew that once Raven grew to maturity he would be massive like his father Godfather Pig.  Because he did not have any siblings, he tried to play and socialize with the other piglets, but they would not let him. Pigs have personality traits and establish cliques like humans based on their likes and dislikes.  Raven’s mother was disliked by all of the pigs because she was so mean as the #1 sow after Old Mama passed away.  Raven was always bullied by the other pigs and piglets, especially by a pig named Macon.  Even though he was bigger than Macon, he did not have the confidence to stand up to this older pig.  Macon injured him severely by slicing the tendons in his front leg.  This disabled Raven for almost a year.  Yet, even though injured, Raven began to show what kind of a pig he could become. Raven defeated White Foot to become the #1 Boar.

Read Raven’s Story here.

Ornery is Raven’s half brother. Almost as large as Raven, Ornery also started out as a single child. Ornery was unique in that he had the distinctive European Boar striped coat as a piglet. He was the only piglet to date that has shown this throwback genetic trait.

Miss Piglet was our early favorite.  She was the runt of the first fresh-born litter we met. Because she was the runt, she had to make a place for herself in the pack, either by fighting to become a top tier sow or as a Security Pig or as the Doctor Pig.  Piglet started out fighting everyone to prove she was strong enough to be a top sow. But she soon realized she didn’t like hurting the other piglets and instead would clean any mud or scrapes from her brothers and sisters and giving them nibbles like a mother gives her little piglets.  Soon all of the pigs would line up and lay down near her to get her Doctor Pig treatment.

Read Miss Piglet’s Story here.

Ranger is one of Limpy’s first litters. As a young male of breeding age, Ranger is an outcast to the pack but he stays nearby with the babies and serves as the Security Pig. Ranger has one of the most unique colorations, which shows his father was probably the Werewolf Pig.

Van Gogh is one of CoCo’s all male litters. Van Gogh lost his ear to hunting dogs which gave him a special look and led to his naming after the famous painter.

Seamus was one of CoCo’s all male litters. Seamus was a healthy young male and would sit for treats like he learned from Limpy. Seamus has contracted Brucellosis and is now has limited mobility, dragging his twisted rear leg.

The Bear is a rather large male black bear that comes across the river when it is low during the winter time in search of a mate and extra food such as pigs. CoCo and the pigs had a unique encounter with the bear last year. Read about The Bear here.

Flo is a 4-5 year old alligator that lives in our creek. She is now almost 7 feet long and should be reaching maturity and start nesting in the next few years.

Rida is Flo’s littler sister from a later hatching. Rida is about 2-3 years old and is now about 5 feet long. Flo and Rida do not get along and are rarely seen together.

Our feeders were destroyed and raided one night when we were out of town. Read about this visitor and see the videos. You can decide for yourself who or what this visitor may be.

Read about The Swamp Creature here.

This young Ribbon or Garter Snake took the opportunity to join me in fishing when hundreds of minnows were stranded in pools after the hurricanes passed. While I dipped the minnows out of the drying mud holes, this snake swam beneath my legs catching the strays that I missed. Every day is unique at Otter Creek.

Scarlett is a rather large Southern Water Snake. Although often confused with the venomous Cotton Mouth Water Moccasin, Southern Water Snakes are not venomous. They do have a nasty disposition and are not afraid of inflicting a nasty bite if captured. Scarlett is a large female and is seen here as she swallows a good sized mullet whole. Scarlett recently gave birth to little water snakes who now ply the waters of the Pig Pond.

This year we were surprised with daily visits from ducks that live far down the river. Apparently they were exploring up the river and found our creek and our Pig Pond. Now they come to visit in the morning and usually each evening before they return home to roost. They are friendly ducks that hiss and chortle and wag their tails instead of quack.

We have a nesting pair of Swallow-Tailed Kites. Otherwise known as Scissor-Tailed Kites, these small birds of prey are beautiful to watch as they circle overhead. Along with red-shouldered hawks, owls and Mississippi Kites, we have several birds of prey.

We are fortunate to have at least a half dozen breeding pairs of Pileated Woodpeckers in our area. These stars of the screen are large woodpeckers and can be heard calling and drumming throughout the day. Each year we get to watch as the young woodpeckers hatch and leave the hole.

Every night we are serenaded with the “Who..Who..Who Are You?” calls of dozens of Barred Owl pairs. They mate for life and when they meet their mates in the trees, they start a call that sounds like monkeys laughing in the jungle. You really don’t come to Otter Creek for the peace and quiet. There is always something going on at all hours.

Since we seem to be the gravitational center of all injured animals, it was no surprise that a limping raccoon showed on our porch one night. She is a sweet raccoon and spends her evening lounging on her back or belly while she eats peanuts or fruit out of her special bowl. When the weather is cooler, she will come out in the morning or late evening and visit us at the Pig Pond where she fishes for crawdads and fiddler crabs.

Wow! Last year a pregnant manatee came to our little creek and gave birth right before our eyes. One minute she was alone with her male guarding for alligators in the river, and then next she had a baby swimming next to her. She immediately took it out to the river and started the long swim out to the Gulf. What a treat that was for us!

Otter Creek is a young male otter that has recently left his mother’s den to start his own life and family. Otter Creek loves to fish in the river and creek, but his favorite is swimming in the Pig Pond and munching on the crawdads there. Otter Creek is the model for our logo and our organization’s name.

See videos and pictures of Mr. Otter Creek here.