Area along Punggol Promenade Nature Walk cordoned off after cyclist injured in wild boar incident

SINGAPORE — An area along Punggol Promenade Nature Walk has been cordoned off following an incident involving a cyclist and a wild boar, the National Parks Board (NParks) said on Monday (Dec 5).

NParks said that it was alerted to the incident along a park connector near the nature walk at about 9pm on Nov 29.

"For the safety of park users, we have cordoned off the forest fringe of the affected area along Punggol Promenade Nature Walk, opposite Coney Island Park, to prevent the wild boar from entering the Park Connector Network," it added.

Facebook user William Chew said in a post on Friday that his father had been cycling along Punggol Promenade Nature Walk when the 70-year-old was "knocked down" by an adult wild boar.

"The huge impact caused him to land face down on the tarmac with a cracked helmet," said Mr Chew, adding that his father sustained abrasions and cuts to his eyebrow which required stitches.

Subsequent checks at Sengkang General Hospital revealed that there were also multiple fractures to his cheekbone.

NParks said that it has been in touch with the cyclist.

Dr Adrian Loo, group director for wildlife management at NParks, said the Punggol area does not have a sizeable wild boar population. NParks has also not received any feedback on negative wild boar encounters in the area this year.

In giving advice on what members of the public should do if they encounter a wild boar, Dr Loo said they should remain "as calm as possible".

They should also move slowly away from the animal, keep a safe distance and avoid provoking it.

"If adult wild boars are seen with young piglets, keep a distance and leave them alone as they can become aggressive when trying to defend their young. The public should also refrain from feeding wild boars," he added.

Members of the public can call the Animal Response Centre at 1800-476-1600 to report any wild boar encounters. CNA