Collective Rescue Operation by Wild Boar
Solidarity among wild boar: Led by a sow, a sounder freed two piglets that had been trapped in a cage.
On the night of 28 to 29 January 2020, two piglets became caught in a wild boar trap near Prague.
Sounder frees piglets from cage trap
But after two hours and six minutes, a group of eight wild boar arrived at the capture site, led by a large sow. In a coordinated effort, the animals pushed aside the beams securing the cage and freed the piglets after 29 minutes.
The trap had been set for observation purposes in connection with African swine fever in the National Nature Reserve Voděradské Bučiny. The piglets had been lured into the enclosure with tasty corn cobs.
When the other wild boar arrived, they immediately went to work on the latch, as if they were already familiar with how the cage trap functioned. The lead sow positioned herself as if to charge and rushed at the first beam with her back arched and her hackles raised.
The Great Escape
At 1:27 a.m., a rescue party arrived at the capture site, consisting of a sow and seven subadult wild boar. The sow and five of the subadults immediately showed interest in the log securing the entrance door.
Throughout the entire rescue operation, the sow was in a state of emotional arousal, as evidenced by her raised hackles. The researchers believe the sow motivated her sounder to free the two piglets trapped in the cage out of empathy, as they argue in their study.
The sow’s compassion set off a remarkable chain of events. The sounder set out to free the captives, dividing the work among themselves to remove the beams and liberate their fellow animals.
