Giant pig headed for auction jumps from trailer on busy Washington interstate

A large pig which was headed to auction jumped from a trailer on Interstate 5 near Federal Way on Saturday morning (5 August), the Washington State Highway Patrol said.

The pig made the leap at about 10 am local time (3pm BST), Trooper Rick Johnson said. Before authorities could respond, people around stopped and headed the pig through an opening in the barriers along the interstate so that the animal could not walk into the traffic, Associated Press reported.

The pig spent some time hanging out near the highway as authorities figured out how to take the animal away. The pig is said to have suffered little scrapes but appeared to be uninjured, Johnson added.

Johnson said he did not have an estimated weight of the pig, but says it appeared significantly larger than the people herding it.

According to the Associated Press, the incident was captured on the Washington Department of Transportation cameras along the interstate.

Johnson said that the owner returned in about 45 minutes to reclaim the pig and that no citations were issued.

Earlier in July, on one of the busiest roads in Darwin, Australia, a camel had escaped from the Circus Royale on Bagot Road which led the police on a three-hour chase through peak-hour traffic.

Police said the animal was caught on the ninth green of RAAF Darwin Golf Club and was returned to the circus.