A wild boar chase ensued through the halls of a Japanese school, causing mayhem, terror and early release for the students, who had to be evacuated, according to WTHR, an NBC-affiliate station in Indianapolis, Indiana. Nearly every kid dreams of getting out of school early, but being forced out by a pair of charging wild animals is perhaps more like a nightmare.
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In a video posted on the station's website, the animals can be seen running through the school, sniffing trash cans and ramming into doors. No children are shown in the footage, but WTHRreports that a student claimed he was scared after seeing the beasts run towards people. The station wrote that the animals were about three-feet long and seen at Higashiyama Middle School and High School.
Students were led to safety and the animals were captured using tranquilizer guns and nets. The station also reported that two boars were seen nearby, though no other information was offered about that situation.
Wild boar invasions may seem like a quirky oddity, but they are fairly common in Japan. On November 27, two people were injured from an attack in Kyoto reports NBC-affiliate KXAN in Austin. According to the story, a guard saw the boar roaming around the Heian Shrine, which was built in honor of the city's 1,100 anniversary.
The animal continued on, roaming the streets and zigzagging through bike racks. Eventually it rammed an unidentified man, fracturing one of his arms. A construction worker was also injured after the animal ran into him, too. Concerned citizens attempted to trap the animal, but it managed to escape their efforts. The boar eventually met its end after falling into a moat and dying.
In another incident, in October of this year, a boar attacked five people in a mall located in the Kagawa Prefecture district, Japanese news site Japan Today wrote. The people, which included employees and customers had minor injuries from the animal's bites. This time police were able to detain the animal.
In March of this year, radioactive wild boars made headlines around the world for taking over an abandoned zone near the Fukushima power plant, as explained in one such story by CNBC. After the earthquake in 2011, residents living by the area were forced to leave due to the plant's meltdown. The media outlet wrote that hundreds of wild boars flocked to the town in search of food.
Boars are native to Japan and have long been a nuisance, according to Outside magazine. A perfect storm of escaped farm pigs breeding with wild boars, growing cities that disrupt the animals' habit and zero predatory foes are thought to have contributed to the spike. The animals are incredibly destructive and show no signs of leaving humans alone anytime soon.
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Melissa is a science writer covering health for Newsweek and has contributed to Inc., Dr. Oz The Good Life, Men's Fitness, Marie Claire and others. She earned ... Read more
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