Latte

[Cibach]

I did let the piggies see Latte after she had gone and they reacted in much the same way as they did with Cappy. A quick sniff then run as far away as possible. I also put her next to the barrier next to Marigold and her reaction was similar.

I have discussed this at length with Suzy from the Rescue in Glynneath and she has some worthy ideas.

In the wild, and with a lot of domesticated piggies, at the point of death the piggy tries to run as far from it's family as it can as a body will attract scavengers and predators to it. This instinctive behaviour saves the rest of the herd from the attentions of the scavengers.

I have seen this running reflex a few times and it can be quite dramatic, even if the piggy is too weak to run, the body tries.

I believe that when Annie and Ethel saw and sniffed their dead pen mates, all they saw was death and instinct told them to run away from it.
Marigold had a similar reaction.

Annie and Ethel seem to know that Latte has gone and are always in sight of each other. When they come out for lap time they are insisting on both being on the same lap. It's sweet, but not usual behaviour for them. I guess we'll know they are getting back to "normal" when this behaviour fades.

Marigold has her daughter Ruby for company but seemed to enjoy the fellowship of another dominant sow. They couldn't have lived together as they were both too dominant, but through the barrier they became good friends. I'm sure the habit will fade and Marigold will move on, but for now it indicates to me that they miss Latte as much as we do.