An Italian man aged 92 was left fighting for his life after suffering terrible injuries when he was savagely attacked by a wild boar.
Alberto Esposti was attacked last week in the front yard of his country house in San Giovanni del Dossa, near Mantua, in northern Italy, The Telegraph reported.
The injuries de Esposti were so serious that the doctors at the Cremona hospital, where he was transferred by helicopter and treated in intensive care, had to amputate an arm and part of a leg to save his life.
After hearing the farm dog barking excitedly in the yard, Esposti ventured out to investigate the disturbance when he was confronted by a very aggressive wild boar that knocked him down and then severely damaged his arm, leg and rib cage.
Watching the last moments of the terrifying attack was Esposti’s son, Ivano, who was on his tractor c hen he was returning from the fields.
It was only when his son jumped off the tractor and ran towards the boar screaming that the animal stopped attacking the old man and ran out of the corral.
It is not known what caused the animal’s wild reaction, since wild boar attacks on farmers are relatively rare.
Coldiretti, the national association of Italian farmers, said the incident “confirms our oft-reported concerns” about the seriousness of the problems created by Italy’s 2.3 million partially protected wild boars.
The association has long called for the wild boar population to be culled.
Farmers argue that animals cause great damage to farmland and produce as they roam in search of food.
So far this year, some 13 people have died and 261 have been gr Severely injured as a result of traffic accidents involving wild boars, the largest of which can reach a height of one meter and weigh up to 92 kilograms.
Wild boars can also be carriers of African swine disease, which has a high mortality rate among domestic pigs.
In recent years, major urban centers, including Rome, have been “invaded” by families of wild boar, who roam the suburbs of the city in search of food in garbage containers.
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