"The Taming Of The.....Pig?"

We were beginning to believe that Javelina were just a myth; an Urban Legend if you will.

After living in Arizona for 5 years (and almost a year on the farm), we came to the conclusion that we had a better chance of seeing a Jack-a-lope, a Snipe, or the Toothfairy.

We've been told stories about them, and seen their scary sculls in museums. We've even heard about farmers driving through packs of Javelina with semi-trucks (but not on purpose...funny story, though).

It has been Ben's heart's desire to see a Javelina, and it has turned into a down-right QUEST for others to help him realize that dream.

"You STILL haven't seen a Javelina? Are you kidding? Well, you've got to see one....I just can't believe it. You HAVE to see one."

Yesterday, the rumors were put to rest and now everyone in town can sleep in peace, knowing that Ben has finally seen a Javelina.

Ben came running into the house breathless, "C'mon, we have to go NOW!"

Thinking there was some kind of emergency, I ended a very important phone call with my friend, Ashley, and ran out the door with Hayden still in his house slippers.

In the car, while racing down the highway, Ben explained what was up:

Ben: Shanda is sitting on a box (in their backyard) with an angry Javelina inside.
Me: What?!
Ben: Shanda caught a Javelina in their backyard with a box.

Shanda just became our new hero.

Javelina are MEAN.
(That's all you need to know.)

Just think of the meanest animal with huge pointy teeth, a huge chip on their shoulder, and bad eye sight. They will attack anything (eventhough they can't see what it is) and won't stop.

They like to stay in packs.

They can get pretty big, too (around the size of a medium dog).

A lot of people like to hunt them here, and some will eat them. I still have mixed feelings about actually eating them since some say they are a wild pig, while others believe they are more a rodent. Maybe this is where they got the idea of the "Rodent's Of Unusual Size" (R.O.U.S.'s) for the movie, "The Princess Bride." All I know is that I am not interested in trying to eat something that might just be a huge rat.

So, "The Angry Javelina" (who ended up being a baby) was infact very upset at first. He hissed, screamed, jumped around the dog kennel (they eventually put him in), and kept slamming into the gate with his head. Squishing his nose through the openings, he broke a tooth off trying to bite through the metal.

However, after getting some water and then munching on a hot dog and some cucumbers, he became more calm. Maybe he was just hungry. Maybe he figured out we weren't going to hurt him. Could we have actually made friends with a dreaded Javelina?

Loading the dog kennel into the back of the farm truck, the boys decided to let him go behind the hay barns (on the other side of their farm). Expecting the Javelina to come tearing out of the kennel like a Tazmanian Devil, they opened the gate and braced themselves.

The "monster" slowly tip-toed out of the box and looked around. He walked around to everyone and sniffed their boots. It seemed as though they could reach down and pet the treacherous beast (but nobody did). After a few minutes, the Javelina trotted over to a pile of harvested corn and started to snack again.

Could it be that the Javelina just has a bad reputation? Could he be nothing more than a misunderstood creature who's just really hungry all the time and NOT the terrible beast everyone talks about?

I doubt it.

Good-bye, baby Javelina...Fare thee well!
(Look at his pointy little toes!)