100kg wild boar forces Costa Blanca beach evacuation and injures two people
The boar was shot dead by police in El Campello after a two-hour capture effort
A 100-kilogram wild boar has been shot dead after causing panic on a Costa Blanca beach, injuring two people and forcing a full evacuation of a section of El Campello coastline.
Beachgoers were forced to flee part of Carrer La Mar beach around midday on Friday June 2 after the animal appeared in the water. It's believed to have made its way into the sea from the nearby Seco River, close to El Campello's Club Náutico.
The lifeguard service immediately got everyone out of the water and alerted the local authorities. A patrol from the Local Police and Guardia Civil's Nature Protection Service (Seprona), along with a member of the Alicante Animal Protection Society, were soon on the scene.
Together, they tried to coax the animal out of the water close to one of the breakwaters, but to no avail. At one point, it ran onto the rocks of its own accord, but rammed a policeman and returned to the water. The officer suffered minor injuries.
It was then decided to try to trap the boar with a net on the breakwater, but this attempt also failed. The animal ran from the water a further two times, and rammed a member of the animal protection organisation.
El Campello Town Hall has confirmed that, after two hours of trying to capture the boar, the Guardia Civil finally took the decision to "shoot the animal", to prevent further injuries, and the boar "died from a gunshot wound".
The local authority also said it was "regrettable" that the regional government's Wildlife Recovery Centre were not on the scene, "as they have the necessary means to reduce a wild animal, such as tranquilizers and other equipment to capture it".
The animal protection volunteer has since explained that the only viable way to save the animal's life was "to approach it to, on the one hand, assess its condition and, on the other, to try, if possible, to scare it away so that it could return to the river Seco again".
However, as soon as the volunteer got close, "It charged me as it did the local policeman, throwing me onto the rocks and stabbing one of its fangs into my leg."
"I have been assisted by the Red Cross and I feel fine. I have two wounds, one on my back and the other on my leg," he said, adding that "what hurts us most is that we have not been able to rescue the animal alive."
The Seco-Montnegre river separates the beaches of Muchavista and Carrer La Mar, where the dog beach is located. On occasions, wild boar come down to the mouth of the river at night, and a group of up to 15 was filmed by local residents last December.
The animals are being increasingly spotted on inland streets and on the coast, in many cases in search of food.
Image: Archive
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