Wild pig roams New Plymouth streets
If you’ve seen a black pig running down the street in New Plymouth and done a double take, you’re not the only one.
Residents in the suburb of Vogeltown have been spotting the black mammal roaming the streets for at least the last few months, with some saying it has been around for about a year.
Michelle Stone saw the pig and managed to get a couple of photos of it before it disappeared.
After the photos were put on the Taranaki Daily News Facebook page, comments flooded in from other people who had seen it.
‘‘My dog’s had a couple of goes at it. Well, chasing it like it’s his friend,’’ Abe Haira said.
Harris Gemmell said he had seen it while at rugby training on Thursday night at the Old Boys’ training ground.
‘‘It ran across the field coming out from one end and going back into the bush by the play ground,’’ he said.
Louise Uhila saw it on the way home from swimming on Wednesday, Tania Jury said it ran across Brooklands Rd on Thursday afternoon and Amanda Keat found it sunbathing in her backyard.
After much discussion, David Wilson may have solved the mystery of where it came from.
‘‘The pig is mine. Leave her alone. I found her in the Uruti hills 18 months ago, a tiny lost piglet,’’ he said.
‘‘Good on her for surviving suburbia, she has many food buckets in this area she feeds from. Good on those folk.
‘‘Don’t let me catch anyone trying to hurt her.’’
New Plymouth District Council compliance lead Cheryl McGrath encouraged people to leave it in peace.
‘‘Every now and then this wild pig, which is afraid of humans, is wandering from the bush into more urban areas. If people see it, it’s important they stay away from it and ring us on 759 6060.
‘‘What we don’t want is any member of the public trying to catch it – please leave the capture to our Animal Control Officers at NPDC.’’