Singapore – There were two separate instances of wild boar attacks on the same night on Saturday (Feb 20); one of the victims was dragged for along one metre.
At around 9:10 pm, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was alerted to the first wild boar attack at 308B Punggol Walk. According to a mothership.sg report, a woman was conveyed to Sengkang General Hospital and underwent surgery on Feb 21.
Photos included in the report showed a woman sitting on the sidewalk while paramedics tended to her bloodied wounds. Her arms, legs, and clothes were stained with blood.
Twenty minutes later, the SCDF received another call for assistance at 310A Punggol Walk. Chinese newspaper Lianhe Wanbao reported that a wild boar had bitten a woman on her left leg. She was screaming for help while the wild boar refused to let her go and dragged her along for about one metre.
An eyewitness shared with Wanbao that a resident had borrowed her umbrella to help fend off the wild boar. Meanwhile, a food delivery personnel rang his bicycle bell to scare the boar away.
The wild boar eventually let go of the woman’s leg and ran off.
One person was conveyed to Sengkang General Hospital after the incident, SCDF confirmed.
In response to the incident, Member of Parliament for Punggol West SMC Sun Xueling took to Facebook to send her best wishes to the two women.
“I have been in contact with NParks and SPF since last night on the wild boar attacks in Punggol. They have been providing me updates throughout the day,” said Ms Sun.
She noted that 20 men were activated last night to look for the wild boar. “They are still continuing to search for it to ensure it does not come near to residents.”
“In the meantime, NParks has also put up several signs along the waterway today to advise residents on what to do should they encounter a wild boar.”
A similar incident was reported on Nov 2020, involving a woman attacked by a wild boar at Sungei Api Api park while she was exercising.
Wild boars may associate humans as food providers especially when members of the public feed wild boars, said the National Parks Board (NParks) in a straitstimes.com report.
The habit of feeding wild boars may lead to the animals displaying aggressive behaviour towards people. This could also result in the wild animals venturing into urban areas searching for human sources of food.
Wild boars will only attack if cornered or they feel threatened. Female wild boars are also protective of their young and can easily be provoked.
When faced with a wild boar, NParks recommends staying calm and moving away slowly from the animal. Furthermore, one should keep a safe distance and refrain from cornering or provoking the animal. Lastly, if a wild boar is spotted with piglets, they must be left alone.
For any wild boar encounters, members of the public may call NParks’ Animal Response Centre at 1800-476-1600./TISG
Read related: First a horse, and then a boar and now chickens crossing the road
First a horse, and then a boar and now chickens crossing the road