A REGULAR Thursday morning jaunt in the countryside turned out to be rather more exciting than usual last week, when two local walkers happened upon a creature they believed to be a wild boar.
On this occasion they had hiked down from Medstead through Chawton Park Wood to the end of Jubilee Playing Fields in Alton and were making their way up the hill into Bushey Leaze Wood on the route back to Bentworth via Beech.
According to Mr Pragnell, he was alerted by movement in the undergrowth ahead and the next minute they were confronted by an animal, which he is convinced was a young wild boar.
He had, he said, seen a wild boar before in Malaya.
Mr Pragnell told The Herald: "It stood just over knee-high with a back of about a metre long. It was dark brown with a shaggy coat and it had tusks."
Apparently the animal stood its ground, staring at them, leaving the pair unsure what to do.
In the event common sense prevailed and they circumnavigated the animal.
Later, on bumping into a Forestry Commission ranger, they reported the incident.
"He thought that, if it was a boar, it may have escaped from a local sanctuary or wildlife park," said David Pragnell.
His principal concern was for the safety of other walkers, especially the young or elderly who, if thrown into similar circumstances, may not have known how to react.
In confirming that wild boar who have escaped from captivity are now living in woodland in Southern England, (mainly in Kent and East Sussex) the Forestry Commission district manager, David Williamson, pointed out that they were naturally secretive animals.
He believed they would run if they saw or sensed walkers approaching.
"We have rangers out every day but they rarely see these animals," said Mr Williamson, who confirmed that Mr Pragnell's decision to give the animal a wide berth was a sensible one.
"They would only ever attack if cornered, they are not naturally aggressive animals," said Mr Williamson.
He suggested, in fact, that what the two local men might have seen is a male Muntjac deer which, when fully grown, is the size of an Alsatian dog and has tusks.
"Not only have they been mistaken for boar before but they are so used to people that they do at times just stop and stare," said Mr Williamson.