TOURISTS in Spain have been given an urgent warning after shocking footage showed beachgoers facing off with a pack of wild boars.
The animals were spotted searching for food by holidaymakers on a beach in Estrella del Mar, near Marbella, last weekend.
Shocking footage showed beachgoers facing off with boars on a popular beach in MarbellaSolarpix
SolarpixOne brave tourist took the fight to the boars and momentarily scared them off[/caption]
Wild boars can be dangerous to humans if provoked – especially during breeding season or if or wounded.
Video footage shows six boars trotting through the sand with beachgoers in the holiday hotspot left gobsmacked.
They were seen sniffing around deck chairs as they scoured the area for food before digging through rubbish bags in search of scraps.
Dozens of bathers in Spain carefully retreated to avoid getting accidentally attacked.
However one brave man decided to fight back against the boar invasion.
With his drink in hand, he ran after the boars while shouting at them loudly in a bid to scare them off.
In the clip, he succeeds in forcing the wild animals a few feet away.
But the video shows the animals remain on a sand dune ready to pounce again when the man turns away.
A third piece of footage seems to show they soon returned as they can be seen digging through the rubbish next to his bags.
But the unusual sight was not uncommon with wild boars often seen around Spanish beaches.
Experts say that they are “intelligent animals” who will work out where food is.
Wild boar expert Dr John Dutton previously told Express.co.uk: “What we have to remember is they are very intelligent animals, at least as intelligent as adult dogs if not more so.
“They will work out where food is and that sort of stuff and there isn’t much that will predate (eat) them.
“They’re probably coming partly because of population increase and partly because we’re getting drier summers so there is less food available.
“Milder winters mean they’re not suffering as much winter mortality and then their population increases so there’s a space issue and they start to look for food elsewhere.”
Last year, a 140lb wild boar emerged from the Med in front of stunned tourists and raced up a Costa del Sol beach.
The powerful animal, believed to be around three years old, made a dash along the sand late yesterday morning at family-friendly Benajarafe Beach near Malaga.
Frightened tourists and locals were heard screaming as the 10-stone beast swam towards the shoreline, with one overheard yelling in Spanish: “Watch out, it’s coming out of the water”.
It narrowly missed an elderly couple in their swimwear and a topless young woman in a bikini bottom as it rampaged up the beach before disappearing into reeds behind the sand.
Animal experts and police warned people who encounter the uncontrollable animal to “stay still and not harass it” for their own safety.
SolarpixThe wild boars caused chaos on Estrella del Mar[/caption]
