A large wild boar went on a rampage Thursday in Taishi, Hyogo Prefecture, leaving eight people, mostly senior citizens, injured.
A 62-year-old woman was severely injured after being bit by the animal in her leg and stomach, while a schoolgirl, 13, and six residents in their 60s and 70s also sustained injuries, none of them life-threatening, police and fire officials said.
The Tatsuno Police Station said the boar first took aim at a woman, biting her in her yard before heading east.
Later in the day, a boar measuring 1.5 meters long and weighing 80 to 100 kg, was found dead on a nearby road after apparently being hit by a car. The police suspect it was the same boar that attacked the residents.
Miyuki Tada, 68, was knocked over by the boar while chatting with a friend on a street.
She suffered two broken ribs.
"The boar came almost out of nowhere, and before I knew it, it rushed toward me," Tada said.
While trying to flee she crouched down, hurting her back in the process, before managing to take refuge inside her car.
While the boar was still running loose, Taishi officials issued a warning to local residents.
The attack came only days after an express train in the city of Wakayama hit a wild boar and had to make an emergency stop.
