Runaway Piglet Found Hiding With Alpacas

A runaway piglet has been discovered in an alpaca pen at a theme park, but how he ended up there remains a mystery.

The one-week-old fugitive piglet has been named Al by staff at Wheelgate Family Theme Park in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, who are searching for his home and family.

He was found over the weekend seeking comfort with the park's alpacas - and not with the only resident pig, Dave, the male kunekune pig .

Staff members have been contacting all local farms and farm parks to try to find where Al has come from, but so far they have had no joy.

A spokeswoman for the park said: "As poor little Al is so young and unsure as to how long he had been outside in the cold for, he has required a lot of TLC, which is usually provided by the mother.

"Wheelgate catering manager Jay Bloomfield took on a surrogacy role last night and took little Al home to keep him warm and provide his bottle-feeds at various intervals throughout the night.

"It's been a long night but little Al seems to be merrily bouncing around this morning."

Al's case may bring back memories of the Tamworth Two - a pair of pigs who escaped while being unloaded from a lorry at an abattoir in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, in January 1998.

Nicknamed Butch and Sundance, the brother and sister were on the run for more than a week and the search for them generated huge public interest and media attention.

The five-month-old pigs spent most of their period of freedom in a dense thicket near Tetbury Hill before being captured and sent to live at the Rare Breeds Centre , an animal sanctuary near Ashford in Kent.

In October 2010, Butch died aged 13 after becoming seriously ill.

Sundance, suffering from arthritis and believed to be unhappy after his sister's death, died in May last year aged 14.

:: Anyone who might be able to help can call Wheelgate on 01623 882773 .