How I missed one freaking big Christmas Boar – Never Again

Just before the last Christmas, I was sitting in my mixed laboratory/office at the university. I did some school and work stuffs as usually. Then suddenly my sister called to me. She lives at the center of a forest and she asked:

“Guess what is just walking at our yard??”

I was like “a hazel grouse?”, she said “noooo, bigger”

“Well, a capercaillie?”. Then she said “no, it is a big wild boar!!!”

I was seriously amazed since wild boars are quite rare here in Finland, at least this far away from the eastern border. But what can a typically slow minded guy from Tampere region do? I said “Cool, take some pictures from it and send them to some local newspaper”. After a while, we hanged up our phones and I carried out my work.

I didn’t plan when I should end my work and start my Christmas holiday. Actually, I didn’t even care (during previous Christmas I made my bachelor’s thesis for example). Then a couple of days later my sister called again and she almost yelled on the phone “THE WILD BOAR IS AT OUR YARD AGAIN!!! Dogs are freaking out, I scare to go out, what you gonna do???”. Then, finally, my brain cells were activated! I jumped up from my chair, I finished all necessary work things, I jumped in my car and I went to the gun shop to buy some ammo for my Mosin-Nagant rifle. After that, I went home, packed my gear and while heading to my sister’s home I went to the shooting range for testing the new ammunition.

Then my holiday had finally begin! Almost from morning to morning I lounged on my sister’s sofa next to a window while listening that are dogs barking outside. I spread some food left overs around the yard for luring the pig into a good spot where I could shoot it from the roof. I also confirmed that it shouldn’t be illegal to shoot the pig, if the boar were a runaway from some farm by chance. I had my rifle ready for the action during the whole scenario, which lasted about a couple of weeks. I was also ready with my outdoor gear  when I slept, chatted with my relatives, eat and so on 😀 I designed every move and step in my mind, how I should grab my gun, run to the backdoor, climb over the roof, lay down next to a chimney and how I should aim the pig. During that time I also read for one exam, why I needed to drive back in my home town, and after that I came back for proceeding guarding.

Unfortunately, the pig never showed up, and I was pretty disappointed to myself. How on earth I could miss that kind of an opportunity? By looking at photographs taken from the pig, I estimated that it could weight something like 150 kg (although I’m not a real pig expert). Look at yourself from the following photos, which are taken by my sister.

Well, I had a nice holiday when I met my funny relatives (cheers to you all!). I had the necessary time to read for my last exam in 2012 and I also started and finished one cool book, etc. However, I decided that from now on I won’t miss any other wild boar in my life! Although during this precise time, a dead line for one funding application (which is needed for doing own research) comes closer, and I don’t have the time to write and do the necessary literature research for it. On the other hand, I believe that I have managed to arrange my things so that I’m already waiting that new, big wild boar to come around. Even though I’m not actually writing any funding applications etc. at the moment. Maybe this pig is so big that it is harder to miss 😀 I mean the real quality life, to do what you really want to do 🙂

Big black wild board Big wild boar fighting with dogs

2 thoughts on “How I missed one freaking big Christmas Boar – Never Again

  1. i can feel the excitement of the whole concept of waiting the boar to arrive..nature and how it runs is a bless for us..and we enjoy it

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