Pocho the pig travels more than 30 miles to reunite with its original owners in Kailua
By Arielle Argel
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KAILUA, Hawaii (KITV) — Nickolus Peterson was driving home from work when he noticed a piglet by itself. He and his girlfriend, Sienna Maafala, named the pig “Pocho” and took care of her until they couldn’t.
“She was getting too big for our apartment and we had to rehome her,” said Peterson.
Pocho was brought to Kualoa Ranch, but her stay didn’t last long over there. A week later, Peterson said he got a call saying Pocho had run away. Pocho had gone missing for a few days and was later found in Kailua more than 30 miles away from the farm.
Maafala said she found posts from Kailua residents sharing how they found a friendly pig.
“When I zoomed into the picture, she had like a white thing on her face and I texted my boyfriend saying, ‘That’s Pocho! That’s Pocho!’” said Maafala.
Maafala and Peterson said they believe Pocho left the farm to find them and this was their sign she was meant to stay with them.
“It’s been shown over and over that pigs can recognize humans. If they are around a given human for a long time, they’ll be able to pick them out of other folks they don’t know. It’s also been shown they have a good idea of place,” said Nick Krueger, an agricultural and livestock systems professor at the UH Hilo.
Krueger said he wasn’t shocked that Pocho would try and was able to find her way back home to his original owners. Peterson and Maafala are now looking for a bigger place to live at with Pocho.
“She’s one of a kind. I’ve had pets before, but not like Pocho. She knows who’s treating her right,” said Peterson.
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