'Wild boar' run free on Montpellier tramway lines

Commuters waiting for a tram at La Paillade, Montpellier could have been forgiven for thinking their New Year hangovers were still kicking in as three swine-like creatures suddenly appeared to wander calmly around the station.

The animals - which did not appear to be aggressive or worried about people watching - then buried their noses into the soil of a planted tree, and happily strayed onto the tramway tracks.

Luckily, no tram was approaching, and the lines were later confirmed as cleared before services continued.

A passenger, named as Farid Martin Goulli Khol Ilhem on Facebook, took several photographs of the cheeky porkers just before 8h45m, and posted them on her account on Tuesday January 2.

She confirmed that the pigs “were not afraid or startled” by their human observers, and later left apparently of their own accord.

According to local newspapers, it is relatively common to see wild boar around the north of Montpellier, where they like to explore people’s gardens, and poke their noses into rubbish bins and sacks.

They tend to come out at night, however, and are rarely seen in the daytime, much less in a group of three at a tramway station at peak commuting time.

It is not clear what happened to the boar after their tramway adventures, but it is likely that they simply returned to their usual habitat, as no other sightings have since been reported.