Caught on camera: Pig versus bear stand-off

EAST SOOKE, BC –

When Crystal and Brandon Walls first saw what was captured on their security camera, they were shocked.

“The other animals were terrified,” Brandon says before pointing to the footage of the goats running around the hobby farm.

They were on the run from a black bear that had broken into the fence.

All except for one animal they couldn’t find on screen – a pig named Barbie Q.

“She’s my furry little pig,” Crystal says.

Barbie had lived in Crystal and Brandon’s house since she was a baby.

“She didn’t realize she was a pig,” Crystal says before showing pictures of Barbie cuddling with all members of the family.

When Barbie wasn’t playing with the pack of dogs or tending to their collection of foster cats, she was cuddling her humans.

“She’s loving,” says Crystal, “and very smart.”

But as she grew up, Barbie began to put her big brain to work in ways that weren’t always beneficial.

“She was like a toddler running,” says Brandon. “Chaos.”

“We had to buy baby locks,” says Crystal. “So she couldn’t help herself with the beer in the fridge.”

When Barbie transitioned from living indoors to outdoors, she began taking care of the farm animals.

“Whether they’re scared, happy, or sad,” says Crystal. “She just feels that.”

Except for that other night, when the other animals frantically ran away from the bear.

“I think Barbie was napping a bit,” Brandon says, explaining why the pig wasn’t on the security footage.

It took her a while to wake up, but once she emerged from her enclosure, Barbie found herself snout-to-snout with the bear.

“My heart raced,” says Crystal.

It was a big bear against her little pig.

Barbie made the first move and attacked the bear. The bear jumped and ran away.

“I couldn’t believe my eyes,” says Crystal. “Shocking!”

“What is going on here?” says Brandon. “This is amazing!”

After the bear retreated, he sat down and raised a paw to the pig.

“Like it said, ‘Stop. I surrender,” says Crystal. “‘Haven’t you seen Winnie the Pooh?!'”

But Barbie stood firm. And when the other animals curiously began to approach the distance, Barbie chased them back to safety.

Finally, after the bear left defeated, the pig returned to her friends a hero.

“I think it’s the classic David and Goliath story,” Brandon smiles.

While others may call Barbie a “super boar,” consider the fattening pig “brave,” or perhaps even title her “Oinker the Conquer,” Crystal is proud to call her brave baby “an inspiration.”

“We’re stronger than we think we are,” Crystal smiles, before wrapping her arms around the pig in an appreciative hug and kissing her. “And I think Barbie taught us that.”