Police in Hong Kong reportedly tried to take selfies with an escaped wild pig before pursuing the animal as it trotted frantically round the city’s financial district and eventually shooting it with a tranquiliser dart.

The chase was the second incident in a week involving a runaway boar in the city.

It was live-streamed by an excited tech worker who also uploaded footage showing numerous police officers with riot gear capturing the animal in a park in the Central and Admiralty district of the metropolis.

They got him. Wild boar captured in Hong Kong Park. pic.twitter.com/tddFmikDlQ

— PenguinSix (@PenguinSix) January 15, 2016

The creature was apparently then transported to another district of Hong Kong, where it was released.

Wild hogs are increasingly turning up in Hong Kong as a result of development projects encroaching on their habitat, a report about the incident in the South China Morning post suggested.

“They’re very funny animals,” wildlife expert Dr Gary Ades told the newspaper. “Whenever there is change, they just don’t want to be there.

"They create these beautiful animal highways in the dirt, which they use to get around, but the moment a new tree is planted nearby there is confusion.”

Large animals, they can potentially pose a danger to humans, particularly if they are sows with piglets.

However, their presence close to centres of habitation is not all bad as they will happily eat food waste left lying around close to human settlements, thereby depriving pests like rats of access to it and improving hygene.

Picture credit: PJeganathan. Creative Commons