A wild boar, described by an eyewitness as “not small” and having “long tusks,” ran into a woman at Yishun on Wednesday (Mar 9).
The force of the collision knocked her out for about 15 minutes. It happened at around 6:40 in the evening at Block 846 Yishun Ring Road in Khatib Central.
Video footage shows that there were other people milling around at that time. A woman who sells clothes in the area and saw the wild boar running about told Shin Min Daily News that she called 995 emergency hotline, after the boar knocked the woman down.
“The wild boar had very long tusks and was not small. After the woman was knocked to the ground, the public in the vicinity stepped forward to help, and I hurriedly picked up the phone and dialed 995,” she said.
A little girl who was with the injured woman, was said to be badly frightened by the incident and wept as onlookers tended to the woman. The child refused to leave the woman’s side.
The animal next ran into the glass door of an optical shop with such force that onlookers thought the glass might shatter., but it remained intact.
Several people there ran off in different directions to avoid the wild boar. Shin Min Daily News reported that the animal seemed to grow more panicked. It then ran into a coffee shop at Yishun Block 848, past a hawker stall, into the walkway, and then to the parking lot, and then disappeared.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force said it learnt about the incident at 6:50 pm and took one person to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital for treatment.
Last month, wildlife group ACRES, which rescues, treats and rehabilitates hundreds of wild animals each year, appealed to people to take more care with their food waste as wild boars have got used to treating bins as food sources.
One animal was seen chowing down at Petir Road in the Bukit Panjang area, while two wild pigs in Choa Chu Kang were eating from rubbish bins and even being fed by people.
ACRES, which stands for Animal Concerns Research and Education Society, advocates for an end to animal cruelty especially for wildllife. “Interactions with a conditioned wild pig by the unaware public can result in potential conflict situations,” it warns.
Unfortunately, the two animals found at Choa Chu Kang had to be euthanised because of complaints from residents and the town council over safety concerns.
Not wishing to see the wild pig in Petir Road be euthanised as happened at Choa Chu Kang, ACRES appealed for people to help.
“Can we prevent this from happening at Bukit Panjang too? Can you please share with your friends who live in this area to follow Wildlife Etiquette?”
Wild pigs do have enough to eat in the wild, but are attracted to getting “easy food” from waste bins. “Due to habitat fragmentation and development, they are sighted a lot more than before,” ACRES added.
Its handy advisory on Wild Pigs can be accessed here and its infographics here (in English) and here (in Mandarin).
/TISG