A wild boar burst into Zaragoza, Spain, during the packed Fiestas del Pilar celebrations in the early hours of October 18, 2026, weaving through central streets and along tram tracks before barreling into a bar in the old town.
Inside the venue on Calle Temple, it injured a woman before the owner and customers stopped it.
Here's what to know
According to Euro Weekly News, local police received the first alert at 12:40 a.m., after which national police, Zaragoza Firefighters, and an animal rescue and recovery team were mobilized.
The woman injured in the bar was only lightly hurt, and no one else was reported injured, and no serious property damage was recorded.
Before reaching Calle Temple, the boar ran through several other streets and a plaza.
Social media posts appeared to show the animal sprinting beside the tram near Plaza de España as families and other festivalgoers watched, though some people online initially doubted the clips were real.
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A widely shared post from X user Daniel Arribas (@DACASTAN75) summed up the surreal scene in five words: "Jabalí en el centro de Zaragoza [Wild boar in the center of Zaragoza]."
Jabalí en el centro de Zaragoza https://t.co/kHPiP4A3Pp
— DANIEL ARRIBAS (@DACASTAN75) October 17, 2026
More background
With the penultimate night of one of Zaragoza's biggest public festivals still drawing crowds, the boar crossed nightlife districts before entering a venue. Euro Weekly News also reported that it wound up on the dancefloor.
Such appearances are becoming more common in Spanish cities. Elsewhere in northern Spain, another woman was injured after a boar suddenly charged at her while she was out walking.
Experts link the shift toward towns and cities to growing boar numbers, milder winters, and fewer natural predators.
Human expansion also plays a role, with development and busy urban corridors increasingly colliding with wildlife habitat — an overlap this BBC explainer explores in why wild animals attack humans.
What's being done?
Local and national police, Zaragoza Firefighters, and the animal rescue and recovery team tried to box the boar in and send it back out of the city after the first emergency report. They couldn't do so before it reached the old town.
After the animal entered the Calle Temple bar and lunged at a woman, the owner and several customers killed it to prevent further injuries. FCC, the local cleaning service, later removed the body in a specially adapted vehicle.
Other Spanish authorities are also trying to avoid repeat incidents. Catalonia has paid hunters to cut boar numbers because of disease concerns, while councils in Málaga and elsewhere have used cage traps or hired archers.
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