BERLIN -- A wild boar that went viral after stealing a nudist's laptop by a lake in German capital Berlin last week could be targeted in a local cull, an official said Friday.
Photos of the female boar and her two young were shared thousands of times on social media after a naked sunbather was snapped unashamedly chasing after them to retrieve his laptop bag.
But Berlin state forestry office spokesman Marc Franusch told AFP the boar and her babies could be culled when the hunting season begins in October.
They would not be shot immediately because it is the wrong time of year, Franusch said -- but the agency will be keeping an eye on them.
"If there are special dangers for humans or animals in places such as the bathing area at Teufelssee (lake), appropriate measures must be taken to avert these dangers," he said.
Wild boars are regularly culled by licensed hunters in Berlin and the rest of Germany to keep numbers down and to fend off diseases such as African swine fever.
Every year, 1,000 to 2,000 wild boars are shot in Berlin.
They often venture into residential areas looking for food, as appeared to be the case during the incident last week, and have been known to attack humans.
"Many of us were scared but the wild boars seemed to be peaceful," Adele Landauer, the Berlin-based life coach who took the pictures, wrote as she shared them on Instagram last week.
"After they ate a pizza from a backpack of a man who was taking a swim in the lake they were looking for a dessert. They found this yellow bag and decided to take it away."
Franusch urged people visiting the lake to avoid leaving food or rubbish behind, as this would only encourage the creatures.
