News Animals

Rome police rescue porcupine from street near Vatican

By: Wanted in Rome

Date:

07 Oct, 2021

First the wild boar, now a porcupine makes the news in Rome.

Rome police rescued a wild porcupine from the streets in the Prati district near the Vatican on Thursday morning, reports Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

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The animal was walking in and out among cars and even made a few forays into shops, police said, adding: "Catching him was not easy."

The porcupine was walking along Via Cipro, in the direction of Piazzale Clodio, with traffic police managing to catch the quilled animal, after several attempts, before it risked being run over by cars.

The rescued animal. *Photo La Repubblica.*

The officers entrusted the porcupine, or istrice in Italian, to LIPU, Italy's league for the protection of birds and animals.

Cinghiali: Wild boar invade Rome streets

News of the porcupine pottering around the streets of Rome comes after a video of a family of wild boar trotting down Via Trionfale made world headlines in the lead-up to local elections in the capital.

The video that everyone is talking about in #Rome this week: a dozen wild boar walking calmly through traffic on Via Trionfale. #cinghiali pic.twitter.com/ZrLfK49lOZ— Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) September 22, 2021