Until recently the only boars to be feared in the suburbs of Berlin were the tame ones recently arrived from Bonn, but the leafy districts to the west of the German capital, an area of diplomatic residencies and spacious villas are fraught with hidden dangers.

Wild boars have attacked the residents in broad daylight and schoolchildren have been terrorised by a boar which rampaged across their playground at lunchtime.

Since the police could not chase the animal across the street and through busy traffic back to its home in nearby woods, they shot it.

Population increase

Sometimes, though, the boar has got the upper hand and chased the police instead.

In another case, a pensioner out for a walk in the woods was also attacked and ended up in hospital.

The boars have caused traffic accidents, dug up football pitches and uprooted plants in cemeteries.

There are several reasons why the boars have been behaving badly this year.

Warm weather has meant that the boar population has increased. That, in turn, means there have been more piglets and many of the attacks have been from angry sows defending their young.

War on boar

There is even a historical reason for the recent influx. Before the wall came down, west Berlin was separated from the forests of Brandenburg by barbed wire which kept both East Germans and wildlife at bay.

Although the local police and forestry officials have been called on to hunt down the packs of boar, they have not been very effective.

Perhaps the best weapon in the war on boar would be to increase the numbers of German restaurants serving spit roasted suckling pig. If you cannot beat them, roast them.