A hunter became the hunted this week when a 200kg wild boar savaged and hospitalised an elk shooter in Sweden. The Aftonbladet newspaper reports that Erling Thorstensson, the hunting expedition’s team leader, arrived on the scene to find the victim already “bloodied”.
Tightly packed saplings and thick undergrowth meant Thorstensson and the group of 10 hunters were unable to identify what caused their dogs to begin barking in the woods close to Ems herrgard estate near Monsteras, southeast Sweden. Expecting their dogs to flush out a cumbersome elk, they were surprised to be greeted by a huge wild boar, which rushed towards the team’s dog handler at great speed.
Before any of the men could take aim, the boar had speared the dog handler, leaving him with a gaping leg wound. “The boar attacked and tore up his leg with his powerful tusks,” said Thorstensson.
Following the attack, the hunt was cancelled and the victim was taken for treatment to Oskarshamn hospital. He is expected to make a full recovery after receiving 16 stitches to repair the damage done by the aggressive beast.
The wild boar was tracked down and killed later the same day by another group of hunters. Aftonbladet reported that the animal, weighing 205kg, was one of the largest wild boars ever to have been shot in Sweden.
Photo: Hakan Dahlstrom