Venezuelan model Michelle Lewin was enjoying a tropical bikini-clad photo session on the islands of the Bahamas when things went from fun in the sun to beach nightmare.
The 32-year-old fitness influencer was visiting Big Major Cay island in Exuma, which is an uninhabited area known for its feral pig and piglet population that swim in the waters around the island.
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Many models and tourists have visited the location to swim with the pigs (you may remember the infamous scene of models swimming with the pigs in Fyre Festival’s star-studded commercial). But when Lewin went to create the same type of exotic photo shoot, things did not turn out very glamorous.
The model shared videos on her Instagram story of herself lounging in the sand with pigs and piglets, stroking their heads and allowing the piglets to lick her hands. Then she jumped in the water to get a few shots swimming alongside the pigs.
Next, she went walking along the beach and turned her back on the pigs for one quick second, when one came running up and bit her right on the backside. It sent the model shrieking and running away, as more pigs ran toward her.
She posted a pic of the bite marks afterward, which showed two visibly red areas on her butt.
Lewin shared the video of the entire experience with her over 13 million Instagram followers, as well as a follow-up to her Instagram story, walking along the beach with her husband Jimmy Lewin, looking smiley and at ease following the ordeal.
Lewin is known for her fitness, body building and bikini modeling, and helps fans with workouts and nutrition through her website, michellelewin.com.
Tourists often visit the area to swim with the pigs (the official Bahamas tourism board encourages it) but some sites of guided tours warn that “No animal encountered on the tour is trained, caged or domesticated in any way. Following guide instructions and using caution and care when interacting with the animals is very important.”
The travel website, The Points Guy, warns that some pigs are known to bite people’s behinds when they “think you’re not feeding them.”
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Another model to experience the not-so-lovely side of the wild pigs was supermodel Chanel Iman, during a photo shoot for the Fyre Festival commercial.
“I don’t like going to that island to see those pigs cause they really, really will bite you,” Iman recently told PEOPLE about shooting on Great Exuma island. “If you see the Hulu documentary I am like running, I am jumping in the boat because I don’t want anything to do with getting bit or getting hurt by the pigs.”
“I know a lot of the girls are picking up the pigs, holding them, but like it just wasn’t something that I wanted to do,” she added.
From Lewis and Iman’s experiences, models may need to ‘gram with caution when pigs are involved.
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