This little pig was rescued after running free along autobahn A63 near Winnweiler. (Westpfalz Police Department)

Kaiserslautern highway police officers were part of an unusual rescue operation Tuesday morning, after a driver reported seeing a pig running along autobahn A63 near Winnweiler.

The caller assured police that this was not an April Fools’ joke, and after a little investigation, it turned out that the pig had escaped from its owner’s horse trailer on March 28.

The owner had noticed the animal was missing after he arrived at his farm in the Donnersberg district, according to a Westpfalz Police Department report, but at that time the whereabouts of the pig were unknown.

When officers arrived at the location of the sighting, they spotted the piglet hiding in a bush near the wildlife fence.

Rescuers from Animal Sunshine Farm in Kindsbach were contacted to help catch the swine with as little stress as possible.

Police closed off the autobahn, the highway maintenance department from Wattenheim opened the wildlife protection fence, and with the help of a large cage, the animal was captured unharmed.

The piglet was returned to its owner after being checked out by a vet, who had also been called to the scene.