Six wild boars are swimming across the Yangtze River. Photo: screenshot of the Wechat account of the Nanjing Daily

Recently in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province, a drone captured footage of six wild boars swimming across the Yangtze River, sparking amazement online at the animals' swimming ability, local Nanjing Daily reported.

The video clip shows the six wild boars moving steadily and calmly in neat formation across the river.

Staff from the Nanjing greening and landscaping bureau responded that they had noted the incident and consulted wildlife experts, who explained that wild boars are capable of long-distance swimming and have a natural tendency for long migrations, reported The Paper.

This is not the first time wild boars have been spotted crossing the Yangtze in Nanjing. In November 2023, there was a single wild boar swimming southward across the river near the Third Yangtze River Bridge in the city. The crossing took about 12 minutes before the animal reached the shore, Nanjing Daily reported.

With increased wildlife protection efforts and continuous improvements in the ecological environment, the wild boar population has been steadily growing, though incidents of damage caused by wild boars still occur.

Since 2019, Nanjing has taken the lead in Jiangsu Province by launching wild boar population monitoring. In 2021, it conducted its first survey of wild boar population density. Across areas with dense populations and key forest zones, 270 infrared cameras have been installed to track wild boar distribution and activity patterns, the report said.

Global Times