"It could just be a horrible accident where they ate something poisonous,' Bahamas Humane Society President President Kim Aranha told Tribune 242 on Sunday. 'It could be malicious, but I don't really see why someone would go out of their way to hurt those lovely animals."
Local legend dates the pig colony to a shipwreck long ago, but the phenomenon may have more recent origins.
Bahamas man Wayde Nixon claims he set four sows and one boar loose on the island in the 1990s, amid fears that 'Y2K' computer issues would bring social collapse at the turn of the millennium.
The idea was to create a sustainable food supply to tap in the event of a catastrophe, he told the Today show.
As the pigs drop dead left and right, Nixon blames the bad behavior of rowdy tourists.
"We have people coming there giving the pigs beer, rum, riding on top of them, all kinds of stuff," he told the Nassau Guardian. "The pigs were given the wrong food."
The prestigious porkers have attracted a bevy of celebrity guests to their pristine island getaway in recent months.
In January, actress Bella Thorne shared vacation snaps from the island as she cuddled with a precious piglet in her bikini.
And last summer, Donald Trump Jr was spotted on vacation with wife and kids cavorting with the pigs.
Actress Amy Schumer was at the very scene of the crime in recent days, posting a picture from Pig Beach on Instagram Friday.
'I know there are a lot of silly sailors that go and feed them alcohol to try and get them drunk, but that's not to mistake them with the tour operators based out of Nassau who have treated them with excellent care,' said the Humane Society's Aranha.
Investigators have been dispatched to the cay to collect water samples and investigate the possible causes of the calamitous pig die-off.
"It's really a mystery as to what killed these beautiful animals," said Aranha.
Nixon estimated that roughly 15 pigs remain alive on the island.
He has called for a no-go zone to keep tourists away from the remaining pigs, which he co-owns.
Bahamas Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources V. Alfred Grey concurred, telling the Nassau Guardian that the government would pursue restrictions that would keep tourists back from the beach.
"If we have boundary lines, the people will be able to take photographs and see the pigs swim, all of that," he said.
"But they will not be able to feed them things."
The dead pigs have received burial in the sea they so loved, authorities said.
