The residents of Schwanheim are once again being visited by animals: wild boars have often been spotted in the district in recent weeks.

"They are looking for food," says Tina Baumann, head of the city forest department in the Frankfurt Parks Office.

The trees would not have produced enough beechnuts and acorns in autumn.

The wild boars therefore roamed the streets of Schwanheim again and again.

Animals were only recently seen on Rheinlandstrasse and Lönsweg.

They dig up the ground in search of food.

According to Baumann, the wild boar would even get as far as the green areas of the Martin-Henrich-Anlage, which is almost in the middle of the town.

This can pose a threat to the residents of Schwanheim.

"The animals are not aggressive," says Lovis Kauertz, chairman of the association for the protection of wild animals in Germany, "but you shouldn't underestimate them if they feel cornered." A resident who lives just a few streets away from the facility emphasizes: "You get worried when the animals get closer and closer." There are people who play it down and feed the animals, for example.

With thermal imaging and silencers

Tina Baumann expressly warns of this because it makes the trip more attractive for the wild boars and they would lose their natural shyness of people.

Residents should also not throw away any leftovers or other kitchen waste to avoid attracting wildlife.

But what can be done against animal visits?

For Baumann it is clear: Individual animals have to be shot down.

One animal was killed last week, more will follow.

So-called city hunters take over.

They bear this name because they have been specially trained and are therefore tried and tested to shoot within the settlement area.

According to Baumann, they are equipped with thermal imaging cameras to recognize the nocturnal animals in the dark.

Their guns are also fitted with silencers so as not to alarm local residents.

Hunting the animals can take some time because the hunters often have no clear field of fire because of cars or trams.

"You have to be patient," says Baumann.

Spring should bring relaxation

Lovis Kauertz also thinks it is important to regulate the wild boar population.

After all, there are around one to two million wild boars in Germany.

But unstructured launching isn't the solution, in his opinion.

"I know that the animals in Schwanheim dare to approach the skyscrapers.

Of course that's not possible.

A wild boar-proof fence could help here.” Another possibility is the use of hormone-free contraceptives in the animals.

The agent is intended to prevent the formation of sex hormones.

In this way, the stock could be limited in an animal-friendly manner.

However, the sense or nonsense of this idea is disputed.

The procedure is out of the question for the city forest.

“In practice, this cannot be implemented,” says Baumann.

Administering the drug would pose a huge logistical problem.

Baumann assumes that the situation will ease in the spring.

"As soon as it gets warmer, worms and other molluscs come out of the ground." Then the wild animals would find enough food again and could retreat to the forest - and stay there.

Basically, wild boars are very shy and keep away from people "if possible".

Until then, it's the hunters' turn in Schwanheim.