Stories come and go, but if there’s one thing we’ve learnt over the past near-decade of running Coconuts Hong Kong, it’s that some things stay the same. Being the concrete jungle that our city is, stories about wildlife sightings—especially when they’re our MTR-riding, fountain-swimming wild boars—are consistently among the most shared and read.
So, what better way to mark Coconuts‘ 10th anniversary than with a round-up of our wackiest wild boar stories? C’mon, it would be almost criminal not to.
1. Small wild boar evades capture for 3 hours outside 5-star Conrad hotel in Admiralty (2016)
Years before staycations were even a thing, a baby boar was spotted roaming outside the 5-star Conrad Hotel in Admiralty near Pacific Place—and it wasn’t going down without a chase. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) workers spent a solid three hours attempting to capture the boar and shepherd it back to the hills, and eventually gave up when it made a dash towards the British Council building and never emerged.
2. Dragon boat to the rescue for drowning wild boar (2015)
A dragon boat crew got an additional workout in when they spotted a wild boar paddling in the open seas. Worried that it would drown, the crew hauled the pig onto their boat and waited for AFCD and SPCA personnel to arrive.
3. Blood and Boar: Injured wild boar causes ruckus at Kennedy Town MTR (Video) (2019)
An injured wild boar scampered through Kennedy Town MTR station one evening, leaving a trail of bloody hoofprints and startling many who certainly did not expect to see a pig on their commute. In a viral video, the boar is seen circling the concourse, past the Octopus card top-up machines and a 7-Eleven before police coralled it into a space near the staircase.
4. Family of wild boars takes a dip in the fountain outside Bank of China tower (2020)
A family of wild boars decided that the best way to cool down on a hot day was to take a quick swim at the picturesque fountain outside the Bank of China Tower. In videos, the pigs are seen navigating the design intricacies of the fountain, wading under concrete slabs and sliding down a slope lined with well-tended flora.
5. I Smell Bacon: Wild boar wanders into police station in Tsuen Wan, possibly to squeal on someone (2016)
Police officers at the Tsuen Wan Police Station had an unexpected visitor one morning—a wild boar activated the glass door’s automatic sensor and sauntering into the lobby, as if totally at home in the secured premise. The escapade doesn’t end there: What’s believed to be the same fearless boar was later found moseying around Tsuen Wan MTR station and attempting to board a minibus.
6. Riding ’round town: Baby boar takes MTR at Quarry Bay, changes to cross-harbor train (2021)
One-upping the boar that toured Kennedy Town MTR station, a baby pig in Quarry Bay managed to enter the station and catch not just one, but two trains after switching lines at North Point station. Viral video showed the boar scuttling up and down the train carriage as amused commuters tried to grab a clip for the ‘gram. On the second train, the pig—probably worn out from all that running—is seen resting on a priority seat. The boar was eventually caught and released back into the wild.
7. First Degree Boar-glary: Wild pig tries to steal tent at Sai Kung campsite (2019)
Campers in Sai Kung’s Ham Tin Beach got a bit more adventure than they signed up for when a wild boar paraded across their campsite and decided to steal their tent. The boar reportedly gave the green tarpaulin a sniff, yanked it up by a corner and took off running, dragging the tent with it. Luckily, the boar eventually let go of the tent and the campers were able to retrieve their abode.
8. Makin’ my way downtown: Wild boar casually strolls through Kennedy Town (Video) (2020)
A wild boar who presumably wandered down from the hills found itself taking a tour of the Kennedy Town neighborhood, casually strolling past the hipster Winstons cafe as amused onlookers stared. As a Twitter user who uploaded a viral video wrote, hogs enjoy instagrammable flat whites too.
9. Hogging all the food: Wild boar gate-crashes barbecue in Aberdeen (Video) (2018)
Why go for a dumpster dive when you can head straight for a table of hot-off-the-grill food? A gathering at a barbecue site at Aberdeen Reservoir was interrupted by a hefty wild boar that walked up to the table, dragged the table cloth and all the food that was on it to the ground before digging in. Its hunger apparently not satisfied, the boar then tackled food at four other tables in the barbecue site, snacking on steaks, sweet potatoes and cakes.
10. When Pigs Fly: 2 boars wander onto Hong Kong airport tarmac within 4 hours of each other (2016)
We can only imagine that it was a case of wanderlust that prompted two boars to turn up at the Hong Kong airport within hours of each other. One of them even led officers on a bit of a chase before they eventually wore it down. The trespasses prompted Airport Authority to investigate how the hogs managed to access the restricted area.
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