Caught on camera: Wild boar hits passing cyclist in Punggol

Singapore – A wild boar was caught on camera, bumping into a bicycle when the cyclist was casually crossing a road in Punggol. There have been wild boar attacks in the area.

On Friday (Feb 26), Facebook page ROADS.sg uploaded a video taken at Waterway Point, Punggol. The caption reads, “When you are casually crossing the road, the last thing you expect is…”

The video was taken by a cyclist crossing the intersection. The wild boar bumped into the cyclist and continued running across the road.

Wild boar attacks have made headlines recently as two women were injured on Feb 20 along Punggol Walk. One of the women was bitten on her left leg by a wild boar and dragged along for about one metre. Both victims were taken to Sengkang General Hospital for medical assistance.

In response to the incident, Member of Parliament for Punggol West SMC Sun Xueling took to Facebook to inform the public that 20 men were deployed to look for the wild boar.

After a dramatic chase in Punggol on Friday, a wild boar was caught and humanely euthanised, said Minister of State for National Development Tan Kiat How in a Facebook update on Friday.

“NParks (National Parks Board) just informed me that they had trapped a wild boar this afternoon in the Punggol area, close to where the two incidents had happened last Saturday,” wrote Mr Tan.

A member of the public had spotted the wild boar hiding in the bushes. NParks and a police officer then secured the area and kept surveillance.

The officers gave chase when the wild boar charged out of the vegetation where it then attacked a lady, said Mr Tan.

“Two NParks officers who were chasing the wild boar and a resident managed to free the lady from the wild boar.”

One of the officers was also bitten by the wild boar while trying to trap the creature. “The lady and the NParks officer suffered minor cuts and are being attended to.”

Mr Tan disclosed that closed-circuit television (CCTVs), camera traps and traps were deployed around the estate to locate the wild boar. The Housing and Development Board and Singapore Land Authority also erected hoardings around the remaining forest patches to minimise the chances of wild boars roaming into the community, he added.

“NParks colleagues shared with me that the feeding of wildlife, whether intentionally or through irresponsible discarding of food, is a key reason for such wildlife-human incidents,” said Mr Tan.

“Such feeding habituates wildlife to humans and increases the propensity for aggressive behaviour.”

NParks takes a very serious view and will not hesitate to take enforcement action. Since the Wildlife Act came into force in Jun 2020, NParks has prosecuted about 20 wild boar feeders who were caught feeding them at Lorong Halus./TISG

Read related: Wild boar attacks injure 2 women in Punggol, 20 men sent out to search for animal

Wild boar attacks injure 2 women in Punggol, 20 men sent out to search for animal