Thousands of the animals are roaming the Costa Blanca town of Calpe, near Alicante on the Mediterranean coast after coming down from the surrounding rocky hills and are strolling through the streets
A Spanish tourist hotspot popular with Brits has become besieged by wild boars – with their aggressive behaviour causing havoc.
Thousands of the animals are roaming the Costa Blanca town of Calpe, near Alicante on the Mediterranean coast. They have come down from the surrounding rocky hills and are strolling through the streets causing alarm.
A boar has a standoff with a small dog in one photo, with a group loitering outside a supermarket in another. The situation is so bad that the town has hired wildlife experts to round up the boars and remove them from the town before they eat all the crops or start spreading diseases.
The alarming images were taken by photographer Mats Rennstam who visited Calpe to snap its flamingos, only to find himself surrounded by boars. Calpe, an ancient fishing village with Roman ruins, is beloved by tourists due to its rocky headland and palm-dotted beaches.
Spanish wild boars are known for their unpredictable and aggressive behaviour during the breeding season or if cornered. Typically found in forests and rural areas, they can cause serious injuries with their sharp tusks.
It comes as a 2-year-old was savaged by a dingo in the third reported attack in as many days at a tourist hotspot in Australia. The youngster was rushed to hospital with wounds to her leg after the attack at Lake McKenzie on K’gari or Fraser Island, in Queensland, at around 1pm on Sunday.
Park rangers first gave treatment at the scene to the girl who had been bitten by the dingo in the car park at Boorangaroo and then she was taken to Hervey Bay Hospital. Lake McKenzie attracts many tourists for swimming and other water sports. Queensland Ambulance reportedly said that paramedics met the girl on the island and that she was in a stable condition.
It comes after two kids, aged four and 12, were reportedly charged by a dingo while they were swimming in shallow water at the lake. The younger sibling was bitten on the left shoulder and she had cuts which were not serious. It is understood that the mother went to the aid of the children and the father chased off the dingo but the animal continued to loiter in the area.
“Some dingoes will target children because they are seen as the weaker links of the pack,” said head ranger Linda Behrendorff, reported ABC News. “This is why it is so important to keep children within arm’s reach. We have increased our ranger patrols during this busy long weekend period, but urge people to remain vigilant, particularly parents with young children. Visitors must not be complacent. People need to understand their risk when travelling to K’gari. Our message is simple: Be dingo-safe!”
