Big Wild Boar Spotted in Punggol Waterway Park Which is Connected to a Shopping Mall

Time to call Ash, because a wild boar the size of my boss has been found loitering again.

A Stomper, Christine, found this wild boar in Punggol Waterway Park on the open field near an HDB block.

This park is linked to a shopping mall named Waterway Point so it has alarmed certain people such as Christine.

She is actually right: while wild boars are basically pigs, they are wild after all and their roaming about could raise issues of safety.

The lone wild boar was described by her to have  “came out of the park, went to the open field near Block 300+ and ran around.”

Waterway Point Is Near Forested Area

Both Punggol Waterway Park and My Waterway@Punggol (which is a river) are joint projects by National Parks (Nparks) and HDB.

Also, from the map (thanks Street Directory), it is apparent that Punggol Waterway Park and My Waterway@ Punggol is surrounded by forested areas.

Not The First Wild Boar Sighting, Nor The Worst

Wild boars are a perpetual safety hazard for Singaporeans.

Previously, there were other similar incidents.

And it seems that there is a spike in the overall number of wild boar sightings, at least according to the number of calls by members of the public who reported it to AVA.

In 2018 alone, AVA allegedly received 150 calls alerting them to wild-boar sightings.

Last year, a female employee of Punggol Secondary School got attacked by a wild boar and had to be sent to the hospital for her injuries.

You might be thinking… why are there more wild-boar sightings? Particularly in Punggol.

Some speculated that it could be due to an increase in population.

However, wildlife consultants such as Subaraj Rajathurai, have mentioned the possibility of new developments in the area as the cause of the sightings.

As more forested areas (a.k.a the natural habitats of the wild boars) are cleared away, these boars will have to make their way further out to scavenge for food.

There are also residents who feed the wild boards despite being told not to.

What To Do If You Meet With A Wild Boar

In the event when one encounters a wild boar near you, just be calm and move slowly away from it instead of approaching it.

Make sure to keep a safe distance and don’t trigger or provoke it such as taking pictures with the flash mode on so that you can upload on Snapchat or Instagram to show your friends.

I mean photos of these boars might be insta-worthy but quite dangerous lah so don’t play play.

If you see female wild boars, just honestly leave them alone. They can be more dangerous as they perceive humans to be predators trying to harm their piglets.

And if you chance upon a wild boar you just can’t leave to its own devices?

No need to worry too much, folks, because we have our own Singaporean version of Ash.

Nparks and the relevant authorities will handle it efficiently so while you need to be mindful and careful of wild boars, do not stress too much because everything will be okay.