You won't find the community of Animal Hill on any map of Jamaica, but it is a real place, with an interesting history and a warm, caring neighbourly feel. Animal Hill is not far from Fat Hog Quarter, in the interior of Hanover, a rural area whose citizens are primarily small-farmers and cattle rearers. The name "Animal Hill" was originally an unkind nickname given to the area intended to make fun of the people that lived there. In the early twentieth century there were a number of families: Hoggs, Mares, Stairs, Lyons, and Wolfes, living close together within the small community. Perhaps in defiance of the mal-intended if amusing nickname, the residents embraced it, and now, passing through Hanover, although there are no signs, almost anyone can direct you there. Of the original families with animal names, only the Stairs still live in the area, the others having died or moved away. Animal Hill is also a primary source of one of the tastiest varieties of yams grown in Jamaica; the Lucea Yam, which is the main crop grown in the area.