If you’re planning to vacation at one of Texas’s beaches this summer, you might come home with a creepy, colorful souvenir—a piggy bank. Yes, you read that right. These small, odd plastic piggy banks are washing up on Texas beaches, and nobody quite knows where they’re coming from.
They’re harmless, though as harmless as plastic ocean litter can be. After being tossed around by wind, rough currents, and sea salt, they end up looking weathered and worn, with a unique, mysterious appearance. So if you happen to find one during your beach day, it’s likely not your typical souvenir.
Where Are They Popping Up?
These little plastic pigs are showing up in Port Arthur, Corpus Christi, Galveston, Bolivar, and Sargent, among other Texas beach spots. They’ve been making regular appearances, but no one has a clear answer as to where they’re coming from.
A biologist from the Harte Research Institute, Jace Tunnell, took to Facebook in search of an explanation. His post sparked some interesting theories, with the most plausible one being that these pigs are the result of a lost cargo container somewhere near Florida or in the Gulf of Mexico.
How Long Has This Been Happening?
It’s not just a 2025 phenomenon—these strange piggy banks have been turning up for years. They’ve even been found on beaches in Hawaii!
One of the earliest finds was in 2017, when a piggy bank was traced back to a plastics manufacturer in Guatemala. There were also reports of similar pigs washing ashore between 2001 and 2004, with some of them possibly coming from Cuba.
Cuban Drug Connection?
The timing of these piggy bank arrivals is curious. Along with the pigs, measured dose inhalers labeled “MediCuba” were also found on beaches during the same period.
It’s believed that Hurricane Michelle might have been responsible for knocking these items into the ocean, sending them drifting across the Gulf and beyond.
Could the pigs be linked to some sort of mysterious Cuban drug connection? It’s hard to say, but it’s a theory that’s been floating around. What we do know is that these little piggy banks continue to wash up unexpectedly, adding a quirky mystery to Texas beaches.