Thunberg hangs out with Esther the Wonder Pig

CAMPBELLVILLE, ONT. — Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg took a break from her high-profile campaign against climate change this week to hang out with a fellow famous vegan and Earth lover in Ontario.

Only instead of handshakes, the meeting between the two influential figures involved a forehead pet and snout rub.

On Tuesday afternoon the 16-year-old and her father stopped by the Miltonarea sanctuary of Esther the Wonder Pig, a social media sensation with two books written about her and an upcoming feature film deal. The gathering was kept secret until Wednesday, when a photo of them was posted on Esther’s social media pages with the caption: “We were gonna change the world together, but she took my last cupcake, so the future of our alliance is uncertain. #HowDareYou”

Esther’s co-“dad” Steve Jenkins says Thunberg has been a follower and supporter of Esther’s for quite a while, and recently asked to visit their property during her trip to Canada. Last week, Thunberg spoke about the dire state of the planet at a climate-change protest in Montreal.

She was in Campbellville for several hours, met a bunch of their animals, fed Esther a cupcake and was able to just “relax and be a kid,” said Jenkins, who co-“parents” Esther and runs the sanctuary with Derek Walter.

“Poor Greta and her father, they’ve absolutely been run ragged the last little while, as everybody knows,” said Jenkins, referring to the barrage of online criticism Thunberg has faced as she delivers her message on global stages. “I think the reason that she follows Esther, and hopefully the reason that she came here, was just to get a little bit of a break. She didn’t have a whole bunch of people in her face.”

Jenkins said he and Walter chatted with Thunberg and found her to be “100 per cent on top of” her life. “It’s incredible. She’s easily the most inspiring and driven person I’ve ever met.”