The Weather Channel shared a video Tuesday that showed a family rescuing a wild boar stranded in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
The family was on a boat ride on Oct. 17 when they sighted the boar swimming far out into Kaneohe Bay, the video showed. The surprised family cast a lifeline several times before succeeding at getting it around the exhausted boar and hauling it up into safety in their boat.
It is not unusual to see wildlife during boat rides in Hawaii, but sighting a boar in the ocean was certainly out of the ordinary, The Weather Channel noted in the video’s captions. The family reportedly named the boar “Miracle.”
The family initially thought the animal was a dog, but as they got closer they realized “it’s not a dog it’s a little piggy,” June Mellor, a member of the family, told KHON2 News.
“We were just baffled looking around thinking where did you come from? How did you get out here?” she added. The family then circled around the pig as Mellor’s son cast the lifeline several times toward it, per the outlet.
The rescue took 40 to 45 minutes, KHON2 News noted. The Mellors tried to give it some water upon arriving on a sandbar, but the exhausted animal preferred to sleep and until the family set it returned it to dry land, per the outlet.
“She sniffed the ground and leaves around, wiggled her tail then disappeared into the wilderness,” said Mellor, according to KHON2. (RELATED: Rescued 200-Pound Walrus Calf Receiving Round-The-Clock ‘Cuddling’ In Attempt To Keep The 1-Month-Old Alive)
Feral pigs are an invasive species in Hawaii, where they reportedly descend on neighborhoods, dig up private yards, show no fear of humans and create a potential traffic hazard. They were introduced from the Polynesian islands in the sixth century and later on from the Eurasian continental landmass in the 18th century, although the Eurasian species are believed to be the aggressive ones.