The Loch Ness Monster Has Company in the Neighborhood: Wild Boars

“Heaven” is how Peter Jamieson describes his home in Scotland, with its uninterrupted view of Loch Ness and the green hills stretching beyond, seemingly forever. But there is a problem in paradise, and it has nothing to do with the mythical aquatic monster that brought fame to the area.

Centuries after being hunted to extinction, wild boars are back, roaming the hills and roads around the lake. And so Mr. Jamieson, who lives not far from the village of Drumnadrochit, often wakes to discover his front lawn plowed as if by an excavator.

Elsewhere in the area, some farmers have been greeted by bloody lamb carcasses on their land. And drivers on local roads have encountered traveling boars, which can run at up to 30 miles an hour, according to one local resident, who said a friend’s car collided with a 132-pound animal, totaling the vehicle, as well as killing the boar.

Mr. Jamieson, a former police officer who runs a real estate business from his home, first noticed something amiss around six years ago when his lawn was torn to pieces. He said he has to patch the grass five or six times a year and is afraid to let his dogs run freely. This has brought mixed emotions.

“I don’t like seeing animals killed at all, even a rabbit,” he said, standing outside his home with its spectacular view of the loch. Boars, however, are different, he added.