Woman Attacked by Wild Boar While Walking Home in a Pasir Ris Park


Advertisements
 

Normally, one only encounters wild boars (in Singapore) if they are…

  1. Stranded outfield in an army training exercise
  2. Playing Maplestory

Other than those two scenarios, sightings of wild boars remain relatively few and far between; thankfully so for everyone living in Singapore.

After all, one wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of the feral species.

And yet, it appears that the wild boars, slowly but surely, have begun to stage an “up-rise”. It may perhaps be because of a lack of food resources in the wild; it could also be attributed to their heated nature in the Singapore heat. Whichever it is, it seems that the wild boar population is no longer satisfied with their quaint privacy…

As they’ve apparently become pretty trigger-happy, if this article is anything to go by.

Woman Attacked by Wild Boar While Walking Home in a Pasir Ris Park

According to Shin Min Daily News, one woman’s casual evening walk in a park soon blew out of proportions when she ended up getting charged at by a wild boar.

The incident occurred in Sungei Api Api park on Tuesday night (17 November 2020).

Apparently, the 50-year-old auditor had been on the way home with her husband at around 9:30 pm, when the pair saw the boar near Pasir Ris Drive 3.

The animal then purportedly charged out from the foliage to her left and knocked her down.

“I felt a lot of pain in my left leg when I was knocked down,” she said.

As a result of the impact, the woman was left with several facial wounds, as well as a galling 10 cm long, 3 cm wide gash on her left thigh that reportedly revealed the bone within.

As for the animal, which was said to have spanned 1.2m long and weighed around 40kg, it fled after the collision and vanished within seconds.

The woman was subsequently driven to the hospital by her husband, and is set to remain warded until Sunday (22 November 2020).

She reportedly underwent a three-hour long oral surgery to correct her teeth, which had “squeezed inward” due to the fall. If her condition fails to improve, she may lose four teeth.

Because of the surgery, she is now only able to consume soft food such as porridge and milk.

Trauma

According to various news reports, she has “lingering fears” from the incident, and is hesitant to go on any more walks in the park.


Advertisements
 

She also revealed that she had cried the whole night.

In response to media queries, the National Parks Board (NParks) recommended the public to refrain from feeding wild boars, as the act might cause wild boars to associate humans with food suppliers.

This might, in turn, lead the creatures to approach humans.

“This may lead to them displaying aggressive behaviour towards people, venturing into urban areas in search of human sources of food and wandering onto roads, posing a potential danger to motorists and to themselves,” said director of wildlife management at NParks How Choon Beng.

In addition, an advisory by NParks also warns of an increase in wild boar population, which has contributed to more of them conducting ‘visits’ in parks, roads and residential life.


Advertisements
 

Meanwhile, it should be noted that there haven’t been many sightings of wild boars in the vicinity (near Sungei Api Api park).

However, a resident has since reported seeing boar tracks at a beach, some 700m away from the place of assault.

If members of the public happen to see wild boars, they are advised to maintain a safe distance, remain calm and retreat slowly.

Previous Instance

Though rare, such unprovoked attacks by wild boars aren’t exactly non-existent.

Back in August 2018, a pregnant woman was reportedly attacked by a wild boar from behind, at Edgefield Plains in Punggol.

The assault left her with deep cuts on her right calf, as well as several bite marks.


Advertisements
 

And in 2017, a 44-year-old man was attacked outside a condominium at Hillview Avenue.

He was walking towards Hillview MRT station when he saw the animal approaching him. Panicking, he tried to flee, but lost his balance and fell.

The wild boar then took the opportunity to charge at him.

He reportedly suffered cuts and lacerations on both legs.

It should be noted that wild boar attacks, particularly those in herds, could also prove fatal.


Advertisements
 

According to BBC Newsa woman in Texas was assaulted by a herd of wild boars in Anahuac, east of Houston, in 2019.

She was brutally killed by the feral creatures.

Upon witnessing the scene, Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne told reporters: “In my 35 years, I will tell you it’s one of the worst things I’ve ever seen.”

Featured Image: Budimir Jevtic / Shutterstock.com (Image is for illustration purpose only)