A pack of wild boars was recently caught on video roaming the streets of Budapest’s posh 11th district, commuter portal Budapest Autósok reports.
Fores-dwelling wild boars normally only venture to nearby farmland for easier food, and enter human settlements only during very dry periods when their normal foraging grounds prove insufficient.
“Wild boars used to live a daytime life, and only because of humans it was forced to switch to a night rhythm. Their adaptation is quite dazzling, they learn incredibly fast, because these animals are super intelligent,” Zsolt Bene, manager of the nearby Budakeszi Game Park told the portal.
He said that the main reason wild boars visit the city is the abundance of well-watered lawns and gardens that have a veritable cornucopia of worms, fallen fruit and root vegetables, all favorite staples of the animals.
Bene added, however, that in past years there was no boar attack, as the animals usually roam at night, and are usually only seen by house dogs.
Despite intensive hunting, Hungary’s boar population is on the rise. According to the latest, 2019 estimate, the country had a population of about 83,000 wild boars, despite that year hunters shooting almost 160,000.
Their abundance has also led to a sharp fall in game meat prices. A little-known Hungarian export, the country sells 90 percent of its game meat to foreign markets.
