A passel of pigs provided an adventurous Saturday evening in Aquinnah for police and residents of Lighthouse Road, who tried to corral the swine until their owner could cart them back to their pen.

According to a police report, officer David Murphy responded to the area at a few minutes before 5 p.m., followed quickly by special officer Michael Leccese.

“We immediately observed numerous pigs on both sides of the road,” Officer Murphy wrote. “Due to the number of pigs and our inability to capture them, we continued to monitor and keep them safe from vehicle traffic.”

Animal control officer Angela Waldron arrived, along with special officer Donald Scranton. The spectacle drew a crowd of neighbors.

It wasn’t clear where the pigs were before they got loose.

Police determined they were owned by Joe van Nes, who has a business that rents out animals to get rid of unwanted vegetation, according to the police report. Police were told he might be on Chappaquiddick. Poor cell phone reception in Aquinnah and on Chappaquiddick apparently hindered communication.

A neighbor offered to temporarily corral the pigs in her yard, which was somewhat bounded by shrubs, a gate and a rock wall. The police report noted that the yard was well kept and recently landscaped.

“While attempting to contact Mr. van Nes, a concerted effort to keep the pigs contained in the yard was taking place by numerous volunteers,” Officer Murphy wrote. “For several hours, we kept the pigs at bay by feeding them cereal, bread, fruit, leaves, and whatever else we could think of. We also fended off repeated escape attempts by a couple of the determined swine.”

It wasn’t until nearly 8:30 p.m. that Mr. van Nes arrived with temporary fencing to contain the pigs. The plan was to barricade the pigs until their owner could retrieve his livestock trailer from West Tisbury. The plan almost worked, with one pig escaping.

Mr. van Nes and volunteers spent some time attempting to capture the rogue pig while his co-worker went to retrieve the trailer. Eventually, police said, “the rogue pig had subsequently tired himself out form his extended escape.”

The exhausted pig was secured in yet another neighbor’s yard until the trailer arrived at about 10:30 p.m. The owner, police and volunteers managed to get all the animals aboard the trailer and sent them off to West Tisbury. The operation wrapped up at about 11:30 p.m.

The next morning, it was evident that the pigs had caused considerable destruction to the yard where they had been temporarily corralled the night before. Mr. van Nes has agreed to reimburse the homeowner for the damage, police said.

On Monday, police officers and residents were still chuckling about the six-hour adventure in animal husbandry.

“Nothing out of order, the usual summer,” said Chief Randhi Belain with a laugh. “It’s a first for Aquinnah. We’ve had goats loose. But pigs? No.”