‘Crunch, crunch, grunt’: Four wild pigs emerge from Leanyer yard

A hunter could not believe his eyes when four feral pigs emerged not from the bush, but from a front yard just metres from his suburban home.

Four wild pigs have shocked a local resident going for a walk after emerging from the front yard of a suburban Leanyer home.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, was walking home on Monday night when he heard a rustling on the nature strip at the corner of Cadell St and Glyde Ct.

“All of the trees are coming into flower, so I was hearing a lot of bats — I’m just thinking ‘please don’t crap on me’,” he said.

“Hearing the rustling and the wing beats coming in and out, then I thought hold on, that doesn’t sound like a bat. Is it a possum?

“Crunch, crunch and a grunt.”

Not a possum. Picture: Supplied.

The man froze, being an avid hunter he knew what that grunt meant – a pig.

“One pig turned into two pigs, turned into four pigs. I thought, you’ve got to be kidding me,” he said.

“I’ve been chasing these things basically all my life, and here they are out in suburbia not scared at all.”

The man said the feral pigs did not seem scared of him or nearby dogs. Picture: Supplied.

The man tried stomping his feet and said the pigs did not react, nor when nearby dogs began barking at them.

He guessed the animals were between nine and 12 months old, and were clearly comfortable roaming the built-up area.

“I can’t believe the feral animals are getting closer and closer into the main drags,” he said.

While it is not uncommon to hear of pigs venturing into semirural suburbs such as Batchelor and Adelaide River, sightings on Darwin streets are unusual.

The pigs in Leanyer likely came from Leanyer Swamp, a wetland area that backs on to the suburb known to host pig populations.

Feral pigs are one of the country’s most destructive invasive species. An estimated 13 million to 23 million feral pigs are spread across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and the NT.