Oftentimes, phrasing an article title as a question is rhetorical, and an author – me, for instance – has an answer already in mind. On this occasion, it is actually a question. Yesterday (as I write this), I spent the day with Exuma Powerboat Adventures on a day trip from Nassau to their private island about an hour away, on the tip of the small cays and islets making up the northern end of Exuma. I had a good day. But it left some lingering questions, and some things that have bothered me, as the trip relates to various animal encounters organized as part of it.

First, I want to walk through the basics of the trip, and then to share my thoughts and feelings about a few of the aspects we experienced.

The day began with a reasonably efficient hotel pickup, drive over to Paradise Island, and drop off at the marina from which Powerboat Adventures operates. Our group was divided between a large speedboat that the website says holds 64 and a smaller one that apparently has a 24-passenger capacity. After brief safety demonstrations, we were off.

We cleared Nassau harbor, and then the engines kicked to life. I was on the larger boat, and apparently it gets going to about 40 miles per hour. There was a bit of breeze, though nothing remotely approaching wind levels to cancel the trip, and sitting in the front of the boat made for a largely pleasant ride, albeit one with the occasional spray of water coming over the bow. Even at that speed, it is an hour across open ocean to the tip of the islands of Exuma, so I understand why most visitors to the main portion choose to fly.

The first stop was the small islet of – if I’m reading the maps correctly – Allan’s Cay. This brief, perhaps twenty minute total, interlude was for a single reason. The tiny island is one of the few remaining homes of the critically endangered Exuma Island Iguana. A subspecies of the northern rock iguana, a 2004 estimate believed about 1300 were still alive in the wild, living among several islands of the Exuma chain.

The beach was literally covered with iguanas, green with reddish trim. These large lizards can apparently grow to about eleven pounds, and can be more than three feet long including tail. As we disembarked, each of us was given a wooden skewer and a few grapes, and told to feed the iguanas via that method rather than to do so by hand. We fed eager iguanas grapes, took photos, and returned to the boats.

Ten minutes later, we were at our final stop of the day. Exuma Powerboat Adventures owns Ship Channel Cay, and here they have docks, facilities – including kitchens – bathrooms, and lounge chairs. Snacks were out and the bar was open (drinks are included), and we were told to listen for the bell to tell us an organized activity was taking place. I found my way to a rum punch and a beach chair, and settled in for a few minutes until that bell first sounded, taking a moment to allow a local wild stingray to rub itself on my legs in the shallows.

“It’s time for the swimming pigs!” The group made its way a bit down the beach, to a place where the company keeps a small group of pigs. (The enclosure was a bit off the beach.) We were lined up in the water, given carrots, and told that the pigs would swim out to us to be fed. We were also warned that they would “do their business” in the water while doing so, and that if we were a bit grossed out, to walk through the shallows down the beach rather than getting out where we went in.

About fifty or so of the group lined up, and the pigs (four or five of them) were released from their enclosure, indeed swimming out to receive their carrots.

After another break and another drink, the bell sounded again. This time, about thirty of the group knelt down in the shallow water, and each was given a bait fish to feed to stingrays, the same group I’d interacted with earlier. Hands were placed basically at the bottom along the sand, and the rays went along the line, sucking each fish into their mouths on the bottom of their bodies. A few of the group were more hesitant here, but other than a bit of pressure, nobody was hurt at all.

The third bell was for a demonstration with local reef sharks that had been gathering. A member of the staff was the only one in the water for this, and he swung a rope with fish at the end into the water for the sharks – maybe eight or ten – to go after. As one clamped down, he would lift slightly to show it to the group on the beach.

After some down time to enjoy the sand and sun, we were treated to a solid buffet lunch of grilled and fried grouper, hot dogs and burgers, pasta, salads, and fruit. And more drinks, though to the best of my observation, nobody had any issues over-drinking.

The final bell summoned us for a demonstration of making the famous Bahamian dish, conch salad. Live conch in the shell was used, which for many was probably their first time seeing it in that way.

The return boat ride was significantly breezier, and those of us in the front were all soaked by the end. Fortunately, the company passed out parkas to those who wanted. But even so, it was a wet ride.

So that was the basic outline for the day, one I – and most people judging by the smiles – enjoyed. But as I said, the animal portions left some lingering doubts, and that is what I want to discuss, in the order in which they bothered me.

Let’s start with the pigs. Apparently, swimming feral pigs are a thing in the Bahamas, although nobody knows exactly how the pigs ended up here. But most tourist experiences offering swimming pigs are not with the wild feral variety, but with captive pigs owned by the companies. The pigs we encountered seemed well treated, and none needed encouragement to come to the beach and swim out for food. This isn’t really much different than a petting zoo, so I lean toward wholesome animal encounter for this one.

Stingrays are next. My personal and private interaction with two hanging out as we arrived is definitely wholesome. As for the feeding? Well, the stingrays are wild so they aren’t forced to be there (indeed there were only a couple when employees said sometimes there are five or more), and while being hand fed fish isn’t exactly the best thing, it seemed relatively harmless, and wouldn’t change their diets much given the size of the bait fish. Wholesome-adjacent.

What about the sharks? As with the rays, they are wild, and can come and go as they like. What I have an issue with is the lifting of a shark’s head out of the water to show the group. If it was done by accident, not great but not bad. If on purpose, it seems a bit exploitative, as the shark can’t breathe for those moments.

I guess what I have the biggest problem with is the iguanas. This is a critically endangered species, and not only are humans landing each morning on one of the few islands still supporting them, but we are then feeding them grapes. Iguanas do eat fruit, but I can guarantee grapes are not a part of their natural diets. And as I’m not an ecologist or biologist, I have no idea what these interactions and dietary changes do to a species on the brink of extinction. It might be that it does nothing harmful. Or it might be detrimental.

Regardless of whether these experiences are wholesome or exploitative – or likely somewhere in between – it would have been nice to have an ecologist on board, or at least some educational components to the interactions. As a group, we were told nothing about the animals other than how to safely interact. And if the educator were an actual scientist who could assure us we were not actively harming the animals in question, the learning would be even better!

There is some gray area when it comes to what makes a wholesome animal encounter and what is animal exploitation. For the most part, I believe that my day with Exuma Powerboat Adventures was on the wholesome side. But I have some doubts about a couple components of it, and would be rather upset if I were part of something actively harmful.

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