Video of man petting wild boar goes viral

Singapore – A video of a man petting a wild boar is circulating online, garnering mixed responses from netizens.

A five-minute video shared on Facebook community page Complaint Singapore on Wednesday (Mar 31) showed individuals petting a wild boar.

At the beginning of the video, a man could be seen extending his hand to rest it on the wild boar’s back.

The face mask he was wearing indicated that the video was taken during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Eventually, the person recording the scene approached the wild boar and proceeded to give it some chin rubs and head pats.

It appears that the wild boar was enjoying the experience as it eventually lay down on the grass so that the petting could continue.

Six piglets were also captured on camera sniffing around the grass while the man recording the incident called out to the wild boar.

As he got closer, the man began petting the wild boar again. The animal lay down once more on the grass while another individual joined the petting session.

“Is petting wild boar legal in Singapore?” asked the individual who shared the post.

In response to the question, Facebook user TK Teddy commented, “Any difference when you pat a wild cat or wild dog? As long as you don’t get yourself hurt or being attacked by wild animals.”

Meanwhile, others noted that one could not predict a wild animal’s behaviour and it’s best to refrain from engaging with wild boars.

According to an advisory released by the National Parks Board (NParks) on wild boar encounters, members of the public are urged not to approach or attempt to feed the animal.

“If you see adults with young piglets, leave them alone. These are potentially more dangerous because they may attempt to defend their young.”

NParks noted that the increase in the population of wild boars might result in a higher frequency of human-wild boar conflict as they wander into parks, public roads and residential areas.

“Although they appear shy, they are still wild animals and are unpredictable in behaviour which could pose a risk to public safety.” /TISG

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