Could robots solve Europe’s growing wild boar problem? Warsaw experiment goes viral

Poland has come up with a novel way to get rid of packs of roaming wild boars from busy towns and cities, and it is both terrifying and hilarious to watch at the same time.

Footage of a humanoid robot chasing a group of wild boars across a Warsaw car park has mesmerised audiences worldwide. Shared widely on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, the clips show the machine named Edward Warchocki running after the animals and directing them away from urban areas and into nearby woodland.

Chinese robot begins policing wildlife

Edward, built on a Chinese Unitree G1 platform, moves at moderate speeds sufficient to freak the boars out into retreat, even though the animals can reach up to 40 km/h. In one sequence, the robot advances steadily as the herd scatters, with its operators saying the goal is herding the creatures back to safety in the woodlands. This latest stunt adds to Edward’s growing fame as a social media personality that appears in everyday Polish scenarios ranging from street walks to public interactions.

Warsaw residents frequently encounter urban wild boars that wander into residential zones and parks and even disrupt transport such as trams. Such incidents raise safety questions for both pedestrians and drivers. Local authorities have long managed the issue through traditional approaches, yet the robot videos now open fresh conversations about technological options for deterrence.

sio sio sio pic.twitter.com/7KVZoXXdDJ

— Edward Warchocki (@edwardwarchocki) April 12, 2026

Rise of the wild boar threat

The rise in numbers of wild boars as well as the prolific breeding of hybrid boars mixed with wild pigs has led to overwhelming numbers of the massive creatures encroaching on human habitats, provoking vehicle accidents and the threat of disease. In November 2025, a pack of boars attacked and ate a horse near to Estepona, Spain. The potential threat to humans, therefore, especially children, the elderly, or even rough sleepers is, in fact, terrifyingly high from these ravenous heavyweight packs. However, protests from environmental groups have calmed the reactions of local authorities when it comes to more traditional methods of boar control, such as hunting and mass culls.

zaganiam dziki do lasu pic.twitter.com/Pjxkn0kfob

— Edward Warchocki (@edwardwarchocki) April 12, 2026

Residents report animals foraging in bins, drinking from family swimming pools or crossing busy roads, prompting calls to local police or environmental teams for intervention. Urban expansion, easy access to food waste and the lack of natural predators are driving boar populations to move away from their natural environments in forests and high mountains, and closer to human settlements all over Europe. In many cases, such as Mijas in the Costa del Sol, many of the fast-growing creatures were born within human townships and have never seen their own natural environment.

Should Europe invest in robot deterrents to dangerous animals?

Many observers now wonder whether European cities should test robotic systems like Edward to complement existing strategies. While traditional methods continue in Spain, innovative tools could offer safe additional support in high-conflict zones without replacing human oversight entirely.

This contrast between Warsaw’s experimental approach and more conventional responses elsewhere illustrates the wider debate on wildlife management in modern Europe. While the move into potential robot policing may have many terrified about the march towards a dystopian future, at the same time, few can deny these clumsy early robots are hilarious to watch, and no one, not even the boars, is getting hurt.