Boar-ish Behavior: Antioch Tries to Root Out Reason for Increase in Pot-Bellied Pig Sightings

ANTIOCH, TN — Antioch neighborhoods are once again experiencing a rash of rotund porcine runaways.

Metro Councilmember Jacobia Dowell, who represents part of Antioch, told WKRN that pot-bellied pigs have been spotted on the loose across southeastern Davidson County in recent weeks, including at least once on busy Antioch Pike.

Wildlife — foxes, coyotes and the like — and feral animals — backsliding domesticated dogs and cats — aren't unusual in the area, where urban Nashville pushes against farmland and wooded areas to the south and east near Percy Priest Lake, but the increase in pot-bellied pig sightings is a bit of a headscratcher.

Metro Animal Care and Control told the news station it has received several calls of loose pigs, but the swine have proved elusive and not one has been captured. One resident told Channel 2 she suspects that someone is breeding the animals and finding that they quickly outgrow being indoor pets.

What's more is that this isn't the first time the area has dealt with the pot-bellied problem. Back in 2010, there were several reports of wild boar in Antioch, but the descriptions offered by witnesses did not match up with the measurements of that creature and it became apparent that it was pot-bellied pigs on the loose.

Image via Pixabay user Webandi, used under Creative Commons licensing.