German Boars Run Wild

Wild boars wreaked havoc in a German town this weekend, attempting to shop for hardware, go to church, and do some gardening, Der Spiegel reports. One of the beasts, acting like "an elephant in a porcelain store," was eventually cornered at the checkout of the home-improvement center, police said. They shot that boar, and the others escaped to the wild.

The porcine rampage through the northwestern town of Lage was just the latest recent incident in Germany. Boars there have grown increasingly footloose since production of corn has increased, because the grain draws the hungry animals towards civilized areas. An aggressive boar pursued two Frankfurt police officers earlier this month, and a horde of the animals damages a historic Berlin graveyard last fall. (More property damage stories.)