British diplomat chased by ‘massive’ wild boar in Austria

The British Ambassador to Austria, Leigh Turner, was injured trying to escape from a group of rampaging wild boar when he slipped trying to climb to safety.

Her Majesty’s ambassador had been enjoying a walk through the Austrian countryside, following a visit to Mauthausen concentration camp near Linz, when he stumbled upon a family of wild boar.

Leigh suffered the indignity of being chased by a particularly fearsome beast. He sustained minor injuries to his hand in the pursuit, which he described rather eloquently in his blog post ‘An encounter with a Viennese wild boar.’

“Climbing through the woods after a cloudburst, I follow the path around a corner to find myself confronting a group of wild boar - four or five hulking adults and countless piglets - known, charmingly, as Frischlinge in German,” the blog reads.

Turner began to gingerly walk away from the notoriously territorial animals when suddenly he heard “a noise behind [him] like a galloping horse” and turned around to see a “massive wild boar, head down charging straight at [him].”

The ambassador took off as fast as he could but, realizing the boar was faster than he thought, he attempted to escape by climbing a pile of tree trunks. He slipped on the wet wood, scratching and bruising himself in a number of places.

Luckily for the experienced diplomat, the boar gave up the chase and trotted back to its family once again, leaving Turner to fend for himself in the Austrian wilderness.