Wendy Campion spotted the pig wandering along the street in Pegasus on Monday. Photo: Wendy Campion
A woman in the North Canterbury township of Pegasus was surprised to see a large pig wandering local streets before beating a retreat when it charged at her.
Wendy Campion was walking her Jack Russell-cross dog when she spotted what she at first thought was a very large shaggy dog on the loose - about the size of a Saint Bernard - on Monday morning.
She then realised it was a big, hairy pig staring at them and took a photo.
"I went no, that is definitely a pig, rather large one. He just stood and stared at us for a little while and then the next minute he comes charging across quite quickly," she said.
Wendy Campion grabbed her dog and moved quickly once the pig starting charging toward them. Photo: Supplied / Screenshot
Campion said as she was unsure how the pig or her 13-year-old dog would react, so she scooped her pet up and quickly moved on.
"He went at quite a rate of knots. I didn't realised pigs could move so fast," she said.
The pig was last seen continuing up the road towards the rugby fields.
Campion said she posted the photo of the pig to her local Facebook page because she only emigrated from the United Kingdom to New Zealand last year and recently moved to Pegasus, so she was not sure if it was a typical visitor.
"We're new to the country so we're not sure what goes on around here, but it is hilarious," she said.
The Facebook post had not resulted in any owner coming forward but people had suggested the town change its name to Pig-asus.
RNZ has contacted Waimakariri District Council see if staff have encountered the pig but it is yet to respond.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
