02-07-2025
South Carolina state troopers chase wild pig that halted traffic on busy interstate: video
He was really hogging the road.
South Carolina state troopers apprehended a feral pig that brought traffic to a standstill after it moseyed on over to the center of the road in a hog-wild video.
Two members of the South Carolina Highway Patrol banded together to capture the runaway piglet that tried to play hooky last Friday.
3 Two state troopers in South Carolina captured a wild pig blocking a highway.
SCDPS
Corporal Clifton Nelson admitted it was 'one of the funniest calls' he's ever responded to, but Trooper Matthew Bullard said he felt right at home after growing up on a farm wrangling pigs.
The slippery sow wandered onto the road without a care in the world. The officers positioned themselves on opposite sides as they tried to corner the boar.
Despite the pig's valiant efforts to evade the duo and even successfully juking them out, Bullard swiftly lunged and grabbed one of its hind legs, as captured in the video released by the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.
'That was the easiest, safest way to grab that pig, and just what I'm used to doing at this point,' Bullard said.
3 Trooper Matthew Bullard grew up on a farm, so he knew just how to handle the problem.
SCDPS
'It's better than that thing going out there and being hit by a car.'
Bullard hauled the pig over to the side of the highway without incident, even as it dragged its front legs against the pavement in a vain attempt to slow its capture.
The sour swine was transferred over to a deputy with the Richland County Sheriff's Department, who then gave it to a relative, Nelson said.
3 The pig was given to a family member of a local deputy.
SCDPS
Wild pigs are commonplace in South Carolina, particularly along the coast after Spanish explorers released swarms of them in the 1500s, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
Originally, the pigs weren't much of a bother — if anything, they were part of the state's history.
But in recent years, residents have raised concerns over the ever-increasing population of wild hogs.
The pigs used to only be found in 26 counties, but by 2008 they were recorded in every single county in the state, according to the SCDNR. The population tracked above 100,000 in 2010 with few signs of slowing.
In 2021, a behemoth boar named 'Papa Pig' shut down a separate highway in South Carolina. The plump porker landed on the road after the owner's trailer buckled under its weight while they were trying to transport it.
