Elderly Sicilian gored to death by wild boars while trying to protect his pet dogs

A 77-year-old Sicilian man has been gored to death by wild boars in an area popular with foreign tourists, prompting concerns about the dangers posed by an estimated 1 million boar roaming across Italy.

Salvatore Rinaudo was in the Cefalu countryside, close to the Sicilian capital, Palermo, with his wife and dogs when he was attacked on Saturday. Rinaudo died at the scene while his wife, Rosa, sustained multiple injuries after trying to help him.

“My husband put himself in the middle [of the animals] to save the dogs. At this point the boars jumped on top of him … There are no words to describe what I saw. I’m devastated,” the 73-year-old told Italian media.

The area around the picturesque town of Cefalu has become increasingly popular with tourists, particularly from Britain, partly because it is the setting for the Inspector Montalbano books and TV series .

Following the boar attack the town’s mayor, Rosario Lapunzina, declared a day of mourning. But Simone Cecchini from Italy’s state forestry body said wild boars should not be viewed as killer animals.

“Boar aren’t predators. When a boar becomes aware of a human, it runs away,” he said. “Above all these events should be evaluated based on the situation. In this case the man was not in a normal or natural situation; it seems that the boar were fighting with the dogs.”