It turns out that all it takes to make the sport of curling more exciting is adding three parts Swede and four parts wild boar ...

For those willing to brave Sweden's frigid winters, skating on frozen lakes is a typical pastime. And during one such day on the ice just south of Stockholm, three friends found themselves face to face with four wild boars in desperate need of rescue. 

"They were helplessly struggling like Bambi trying to escape from a small island in the middle of the lake," recalls Vimeo user Djake. "They probably had run out of food."

Determined to get the castaways to safety, the trio used their hand poles to "curl" them to solid ground. And while the best course of action when you see any struggling wildlife is to contact local authorities, we're glad to report the rescue went off without any harm. 

Sweden has a dense population of wild boar, and just like in North America and many countries across Europe, they're not always welcomed with open arms. There are so many boar in the country, in fact, that hunters take a staggering 70,000 to 100,000 per year – just to control the population. 

The pigs can wreak havoc on local ecosystems by competing for food with local birds and small mammals, and they have a knack for trampling crops. Just check out these babies in action: 

It's not all doom and gloom though. Interestingly, one group seems to benefit from the boom of wild boar: plants. Studies show that areas where wild boar have been rooting have 30% higher plant diversity than in undisturbed patches!

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Top header image: The Wasp Factory/Flickr