Dead wild boar mystery near Berkeley vegetarian restaurants

A skinned boar was found in Berkeley on the morning of Monday, Jan. 19, 2014, near a vegetarian restaurant on Adeline Street. Another such discovery was made the same morning on Shattuck Avenue near Herbivore, a downtown vegan restaurant. less A skinned boar was found in Berkeley on the morning of Monday, Jan. 19, 2014, near a vegetarian restaurant on Adeline Street. Another such discovery was made the same morning on Shattuck Avenue near Herbivore, ... more Photo: Courtesy / Anna Abramson Photo: Courtesy / Anna Abramson Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Dead wild boar mystery near Berkeley vegetarian restaurants 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Two grisly sightings of the head and skin of a dead wild boar dumped near a pair of vegetarian restaurants in Berkeley are raising questions about how the remains came to be there and what, if any, message was intended.

Berkeley police confirmed a first report came in about a wild boar on Shattuck Avenue near Haste Street around 9:30 a.m. Monday. But when officers arrived on the scene, there was no boar to be found.

Daniel Garcia, the manager of the nearby Herbivore restaurant, said the skinned animal had been perched on top of a newsstand across the street, still bloody and with bits of flesh attached.

He was hesitant to link the discovery to the restaurant, however, noting that there are newsstands closer to Herbivore that could have been used if whomever left the skin was trying to send some sort of carnivorous message.

Anna Abramson alerted The Chronicle to the other sighting near the intersection of Adeline and Emerson streets later Monday morning close to Flaco’s, a vegetarian restaurant on the corner.

Officers responding to that scene found a dead wild boar, collected its remains and turned them over to city animal control, a police spokeswoman said.

Because no remains were found at the scene of the first report, it was unclear whether there were two different boars or if the same one had been spotted twice, with someone moving it between sightings.

Police did not say what, if any, motive might be attached to the abandoned animals.

Kale Williams is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: kwilliams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfkale