Concerned over wild boar attacks, Punggol residents suggest patrols, culling or relocating the animals

• On Feb 20, two separate incidents of wild boar attacks occurred along Punggol Walk
• NParks said it had activated a team of 20 to search for the wild boar
• Residents in the area said they were surprised the animal or animals ventured into the estate
• They were particularly concerned for the safety of children 
• Among other things, they suggested relocating wild boars to prevent repeat incidents

SINGAPORE  — Mr Wang, a resident of Block 310A Punggol Walk, did not think much when a wild boar wandered into the path of his car as he was driving out of his housing block’s car park at around 9.30pm on Saturday (Feb 20).

The boar ran into the bushes when his car approached, much like a stray dog, recounted the 40-year-old insurance agent who declined to give his full name. 

So he was surprised to learn from news reports the next day that his block, as well as Block 308B about 500m away on the other side of Punggol Waterway, were the sites of two separate incidents of wild boar attacks.

“It was scary to hear about it. What if the wild boar were to attack children? The consequences may be very bad,” Mr Wang said. He has two children aged nine and eight.

In response to queries from TODAY, the National Parks Board (NParks) said on Monday that it was alerted to the incidents last Saturday evening and had activated a team of 20 NParks officers and contractors to patrol the area and search for the wild boar and prevent further human-wildlife conflict.

Mr How Choon Beng, the director of wildlife management and outreach at the agency, said that there were no sightings of wild boars in the area during the search over the weekend.

In a Facebook post on Monday, Ms Sun Xueling, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Punggol West Single Member Constituency, said that an NParks team and its contractors are out patrolling in Punggol and they will be walking around until 3am. 

Block 308B comes under Ms Sun’s constituency while Block 310A comes under MP Janil Puthucheary’s ward in Pasir Ris-Punggol Group Representation Constituency. 

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said on Monday that it had received two calls for assistance last Saturday — one at Block 308B at about 9.10pm and another at Block 310A at about 9.30pm. Both people were taken to Sengkang General Hospital.

Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao reported that at Block 310A, a woman was said to have been bitten by a wild boar on her left leg and dragged for about 1m.

Ms Sun said that she hopes the two people injured in the incidents will recover soon. 

She added that NParks and the police are providing her with updates on the incidents.

Most of the seven residents of Punggol Walk whom TODAY interviewed on Monday were surprised that a wild boar had managed to venture so far into the housing estate. They were especially concerned over the safety of young children in the neighbourhood.

Mr Mikhail Sutresno, a 33-year-old nurse, said that this was the first time he had heard of wild boars approaching so close to his home.

He had encountered a boar once in his five years of living at Punggol, but that was in the vegetated areas near Safra Punggol along Sentul Crescent, he said.

Echoing Mr Wang, Mr Mikhail said that his first thought upon hearing the news was the safety of his two children aged four and two.

“This area is home to many young families. What if the incident had occurred (when) my children (were) down the block to play?”

'CONTROL, BUT NOT ELIMINATE'

The residents at Punggol Walk suggested several ways to avoid a repeat occurrence of the incidents. 

These included culling the wild boar population, having the authorities patrol the area and relocating wild boars.

One 37-year-old resident, who is self-employed and gave his name as just Mr Leow, suggested that the authorities “control, but not eliminate” the population of wild boars.

Another resident, Ms Victoria Lee, a 30-year-old teacher, suggested relocating them to other places such as a zoo or some place further away from people.

Mr Ryan Leong, a 38-year-old civil servant, proposed that the authorities fence up forested areas or barricade residential estates to prevent wild boars from roaming so far.

In addition to educating residents on dealing with wild boar encounters, Mr Mikhail said that a phone line could be set up for residents to report wildlife sightings to the authorities.

Right now, the public may contact NParks’ Animal Response Centre for help in dealing with an animal. They may also contact the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society’s wildlife rescue hotline.

Mr How of NParks said that the agency will continue to patrol the area. It has also put up advisories on what the public should do if they encounter wild boars. For instance, the public should stay calm and walk away slowly if they encounter a wild boar. They should also avoid using flash photography to take pictures of it or feeding it. 

Referring to the boar that was seen over the weekend, Mr How said: “In view of its tendency to stray into publicly accessible areas in search of human sources of food and the potential threat that it poses to public safety, the wild boar will be trapped and removed from the area (should it be spotted by the patrol team).” 

TODAY has reached out to Ms Sun for comment.