Walkers have been warned to be on the lookout for a feral pig on the
loose at Mount Jerrabomberra in south-east New South Wales, Australia,
after a woman and her dog were set upon in a vicious attack.
Canberra woman Michaela Vodvarka, 22, was walking her parent's dog Zeus,
on Sunday, July 19 when she was confronted by a wild boar.
While protecting her dog, Ms Vodvarka was bitten by the pig twice,
sustaining cuts that later required 10 stitches in hospital.
Ms Vodvarka said the attack happened at about 5:00pm, not far from the
base of the mountain near Queanbeyan.
Zeus, a Great Dane, Boerboel cross, was first to hear the pig and broke free of his harness to chase it.
When Ms Vodvarka finally found him, he was being attacked by a wild boar.
"It was almost as big as the dog... the pig was almost the same weight and height. It was huge," she said.
"It was attacking the dog, the dog was attacking it. Instinct for me was to not let anything happen to the dog.
I didn't want anything to happen to him. So I've stepped in and started to try and push the pig away.
In doing that the pig's got aggressive towards me and has started running at me."
In the 30-minute scuffle that followed, Ms Vodvarka desperately tried to get her dog away from the pig.
At one point Ms Vodvarka wrapped herself around the dog in bear hug to protect it, but the pig kept coming at both of them.
"All I could do was stand there screaming at the dog to come to me. But
he just wouldn't listen. About five minutes after that... two people
came over the hill," she said.
The two men were able to call Zeus away, and the pig eventually left
too.
"I don't know what would have happened to be honest, I have no idea... I
don't know what I could have done in that situation," she said.
One of the men drove Ms Vodvarka home and later took her to hospital,
where she was given a serious dose of antibiotics.
"They cleaned the wound peroxide and then stitched me up," she said.
"And then sent me home with antibiotics, a Tetanus shot and a syringe
full of antibiotics pumped into my veins... I was in quite a lot of pain
for about a week."
Ms Vodvarka said Zeus escaped the encounter unharmed.
Queanbeyan City Council has since hired a licensed specialist to search
the area and remove the animal.
The council's manager for environment and health Natasha Abbott said the
woman was extremely upset by incident.
"The lady involved was quite shaken by the ordeal," she said.
"Council is urging those who walk Mt Jerrabomberra and people who occupy
houses that may back on to the reserve to take care."
Ms Abbott said as a safety precaution, walkers on Mount Jerrabomberra
should keep to the roads and keep their dogs on a leash at all times.
"If you come across a feral pig, please do not approach it," she said.
How the pig came to be on the mountain was unclear.
"This is the first report of its kind that council has received in
recent memory," Ms Abbott said.
The council said warning signs would be erected until the area was
deemed safe again.
Feral pig sightings should be reported to Queanbeyan City Council, with
the time and location of the sighting.
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