We've often reported on the experience — swimming with the famous ocean pigs of the Bahamas.

On Feb. 21, seven of the popular, doggy-paddling pigs were found dead on the beach of Big Major Cay.

Autopsies performed on the animals revealed that the pigs likely died due to sand ingestion.

“I understand there are seven or eight pigs still alive. It’s still unclear on the number of animals that are dead,” Bahamas Humane Society President Kim Aranha told Tribune 242. “I’d say it’s more than seven, but certainly not the 15 as initially reported on social media. The veterinarians are bringing the samples back but I can’t say how long it will take to get the results.”

One initial theory is that the pigs accidentally ingested something poisonous, given the sudden death of multiple pigs.

“It could be malicious, but I don’t really see why someone would go out of their way to hurt those lovely animals,” Aranha told Tribune 242.

One of the pigs' owners, Wayde Nixon, told the Nassau Guardian that he believed the pigs were given the "wrong food."

Officials are still permitting tourists to visit the remaining pigs at Big Major Cay, but there are new regulations in place for feeding them. Please feed them only pitted fruits and vegetables and feed them in the water.

Big Major Cay is a tiny, thickly forested island with no residents. It is located near Staniel Cay, and is in the Exuma district. The Exumas are comprised of more than 360 islands, cays and islets.

Popular lore says that the pigs were dropped off by a group of sailors who wanted to come back and cook them. Another legend has it that there was a nearby shipwreck and the pigs swam to safety. However, the owner says they were brought to the island as part of plans to start a farm there. However the pigs arrived, the encounter has become very popular; at times, scores of visitors are in the water and on the beach, playing with the pigs and taking photos, with no one regulating their behavior or what they fed the pigs.

SWIMMING WITH THE PIGS OF BIG MAJOR CAY — WE NAMED IT ONE OF OUR FAVORITE 50 WAYS TO PLAY UNDERWATER!

Nixon told the Nassau Guardian that he and his partner, Don Rolle, would be responsible for regulating tourist interactions with the pigs. "We had them pigs there 30 years, and never has this happened before," Nixon said. "We have people coming there giving the pigs beer, rum, riding on top of them, all kind of stuff."

Nixon says that while he and his partner are not on site all the time, they'd have to begin regulating the experience along with the government of the Bahamas. He says that for now, the deaths will not prevent tourists from visiting. "The other remaining pigs are alive and healthy and out on the beach and going," he told the Guardian. Nixon says that he and Rolle, along with their sons, will be on site frequently, to help regulate it.

The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism is also expected to help regulate the encounters. One possibility being considered is to create some sort of boundary around the pigs.

The experience is extremely popular. Comedian Amy Schumer recently visited Big Major Cay with Jerry Seinfeld and his wife, and posted pictures on Instagram:

As the news of the pigs' deaths began circulating on social media, a number of people tweeted about it. Here is a sampling: