Fann Sim Channel NewsAsia 29 Aug 18;
SINGAPORE: Despite the wild boar attack on a woman outside Punggol Secondary School on Tuesday (Aug 28), residents in the area that Channel NewsAsia spoke with said the animals are usually not aggressive and will not attack unless provoked.
One man said that he has seen wild boars around the Punggol Serangoon reservoir, about 2 kilometres from the secondary school, more than 20 times in the last two years.
“They are usually in the jungle but sometimes they come out to eat around the slopes of the hill. There are a lot of them, probably 20-25 wild boars from babies to middle-sized to adults,” Mr Amalraj said.
They usually run away when they see people, he added.
A retired resident Mr Koh said that he once saw more than 10 wild boars grazing near the Lorong Halus bridge that spans the reservoir.
“I’ve seen them many times and they are usually finding food. They were not fierce or aggressive and I could even go up close to take photos,” Mr Koh said.
He cycles along Sungei Punggol daily, which runs along many of the new residential projects in the neighbourhood, and has seen people feed the boars, usually in the evening.
Wild boars have also been spotted at the forested areas around Punggol Safra near Sam Kee LRT station, about 1 kilometre away from the secondary school.
Homemaker Mrs Lee told Channel NewsAsia that she has heard from other residents as well as her children's classmates that they have spotted wild boars near Punggol Safra but they were "friendly".
READ: Government working with stakeholders to 'manage wild boar issues': MND
Retiree Susie Woo said her group of elderly friends who play Pokemon Go together have warned each other to watch out for wild boars in the area when they are out and about.
"We saw them at My Waterway @ Punggol where there is a Pokemon gym. I saw two big boars. One was digging the ground and it's fine. Nothing happened. I saw boars three times there," Mdm Woo said.
"It's not so serious. If you don't provoke them they will not attack you," she added.
Resident Low Woon Teck said that there used to be a field with an area of big trees that made it look "like a forest". He came across two boars under a flyover while waiting for the rain to pass when he was out running.
"Why would I be scared? They were grazing like goats and just running up and down. Everybody was watching under the flyover," Mr Low said.
"There are also wild dogs here but it's nothing much. It's not a real concern to me," he added.
Source: CNA/fs
Punggol Secondary students told to be vigilant after boar injures school employee: Principal
Channel NewsAsia 29 Aug 18;
SINGAPORE: Staff and students of Punggol Secondary have been reminded to be vigilant and watchful of their surroundings after a woman was injured by a boar outside the school, said its principal Benedict Keh on Wednesday (Aug 29).
He confirmed that the woman injured on Tuesday is an administrative employee at the school, adding that she remains in hospital.
"We will render her continued assistance, including giving her the time to recover from her wounds," said Mr Keh in response to Channel NewsAsia's queries.
"We have reminded our staff and students to be vigilant and watchful of their surroundings," he added.
"As an added precaution, we are working with the relevant authorities to ensure the safety of our staff and students."
The Singapore Civil Defence Force said it responded to a call for medical assistance at about 5.15pm on Tuesday, along 51 Edgefield Plains.
After the incident, the boar ran into a nearby executive condominium's rubbish collection point, according to a report by Channel 8 News.
The animal was stranded there and was eventually sedated and moved from the area, said the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES).
NO INCREASE IN WILD BOAR SIGHTINGS IN PUNGGOL: AVA
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said it contacted ACRES after being alerted to a boar at the condominium, adding that the animal was subsequently relocated at the Lorong Halus area.
"The wild boar likely came from forested areas at the end of Punggol and/or Coney Island, where boars are known to be present," said AVA in response to Channel NewsAsia's queries.
"AVA has been monitoring the wild boar situation and has not observed any increased trend of wild boar sightings at this area."
The agency added that it has been working closely with the National Parks Board, ACRES, Wildlife Reserves Singapore and the National University of Singapore to "mitigate encounters with wild boars".
"Some measures which have been implemented include putting up signage about wildlife crossings at specific locations to warn motorists," said AVA.
Authorities said last year that they were working on managing wild boar issues in Singapore after reports of more sightings near residential areas.
Last November, police fired tasers at a boar at Punggol West Flyover after it charged towards officers and members of the public.
In October 2017, a man was injured after he was attacked by a wild boar near a bus stop at Hillview Road.
ACRES said on Tuesday that the wild boar in the latest incident likely came from Lorong Halus.
"Development works in that area could have caused this individual to venture out and subsequently finding itself lost in the urban area," said ACRES deputy chief executive Kalai Vanan.
"Feeding by people may have had a part to play as well to cause the animal to venture out as well."
AVA cautioned members of the public not to approach, disturb, feed or try to catch any wildlife.
"We urge the public to keep a safe distance from all wild boars and avoid confronting or cornering the animals.
"Do not interact with the animal, and ensure that young children and pets are kept away as they may be curious and approach it," said AVA.
Source: CNA/zl/(gs)
Woman hurt by wild boar: AVA says boar likely from forested areas in Punggol or Coney Island
Timothy Goh and Tee Zhuo Straits Times 28 AUg 18;
SINGAPORE - The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) said it has not observed any increased trend of wild boar sightings in Punggol, after a woman was hurt in an encounter with the animal near Punggol Secondary School on Tuesday (Aug 28).
It added that the wild boar likely came from forested areas at the end of Punggol or Coney Island, where the animals are known to be present.
"AVA has been working closely with relevant stakeholders including NParks, Acres, Wildlife Reserves Singapore and NUS, to mitigate encounters with wild boars and ensure public safety," it said on Wednesday, in response to queries from The Straits Times. "Some measures which have been implemented include putting up signages about wildlife crossings at specific locations to warn motorists."
AVA did not provide updated numbers. But it was reported in August 2016 that wild boar sightings in Punggol had doubled to 24 from the previous year.
In the incident on Tuesday afternoon, the woman in her 30s was injured in a wild boar encounter near the school and was taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. The school is located a few bus stops away from a forested area which is being cleared for development.
The wild boar was later found in a nearby executive condominium and was captured by staff from the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres). It was sedated and relocated.
The school said on Wednesday it is working with the relevant authorities to ensure the safety of its staff and students after the incident. Staff and students have also been reminded to be vigilant and watchful of their surroundings.
School principal Benedict Keh said that the woman, who is an administrative employee, is now in hospital. He said: "We will render her continued assistance, including giving her the time to recover from her wounds."
Punggol Secondary students who spoke to ST said it is the first time they have heard of such an incident happening near the school.
A Secondary 4 student said that he first heard about the incident when his teacher sent a message to his class' WhatsApp chat group. He said he felt "a bit scared" after hearing about it.
Some students, however, said they became aware of the incident only after reading about it online.
After injuring the school employee, the boar, which weighed about 40kg, fled to a nearby executive condominium, Waterbay.
According to Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao, Mr Yang, a security guard at Waterbay, saw the boar running into the condominium. The 54-year-old had initially mistaken it for a dog. When he realised that it was a boar, he notified the condominium's management.
"I was worried that the wild boar would run rampant in the condo and attack people, so I rushed down to the security room to close the rubbish bay doors remotely to trap it. I then called the police," he said.
The report added that two cleaners were trapped in the rubbish bay with the boar briefly, but escaped via the stairs and side door.
A Waterbay resident, who did not want to be named, told ST that he saw the boar being removed by the authorities.
He said that there had not been much of a commotion, adding that in his two years of living there, he had not heard of such an incident. "It seemed like a one-off incident," he said.
Another resident, who gave her name as Ms Ivy, said that a fellow resident first posted a picture of the boar in their condo's WhatsApp group chat. The clerk, who is in her 40s, wondered how the animal made its way from the school to the condo. She said: "The traffic here is so heavy. How did it cross the road?"
Mr Subaraj Rajathurai, director of Strix Wildlife consultancy, said that many pockets of nature had been removed for housing development in recent years, causing wildlife to lose their habitats and wander around looking for food.
He said: “We have encroached on their homes, where do you expect them to go?”
Asked how a boar could have ended up some distance away from its forest habitat, he said: “Animals in a desperate search for food will wander through areas that used to be their foraging grounds.”
Mr Subaraj said that Punggol, with its forested areas being cleared for development, also lacks a "green corridor" which could act as a passageway for animals to move around without coming into contact with humans.
At least two people have been injured in encounters with wild boars in the past two years.
In October 2017, a 44-year-old man was injured when a wild boar attacked him outside a condominium at Hillview Avenue. He suffered cuts and lacerations on both legs.
The next month, police shot a wild boar that was rampaging on a road in Punggol. The injured animal was lying on the road when policemen arrived at the location. When it got up and began charging, the policemen fired their tasers at the boar, but it continued to charge towards them and the public. A policeman had to draw his revolver to fire a shot at it. The boar was later euthanised due to injuries sustained by the shot fired.
Boar attack victim recounts her ordeal, worries for kids in vicinity
The New Paper 31 Aug 18;
The wild boar attack on an administrator from Punggol Secondary School on Tuesday left her with a vicious bite and lacerations on her back, arms and legs.
Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao identified the woman as 32-year-old Ms Alice Ng. She was attacked at Edgefield Plains in Punggol.
Recounting her ordeal from her hospital bed at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital on Wednesday, Ms Ng said she did not provoke the animal and found out there were wild boars in the area only after the attack.
Ms Ng, who is expected to be discharged next week, told Wanbao: "I was listening to music on my earphones and I did not feel anything amiss before the incident. A strong force then knocked me down from behind."
She said: "Only when I was knocked to the ground did I realise that it was a big wild boar."
The frenzied boar charged and bit her repeatedly, Ms Ng recounted, tearing her blouse and gashing her on the back.
Dazed, bleeding and in pain, Ms Ng said she had no strength to escape as the boar continued to linger around her.
A passing cyclist then tried to use his bicycle to scare the boar away.
Shin Min Daily News reported that another passerby, Ms Sun, 36, saw the attack and called an ambulance, which arrived in about 10 minutes.
Ms Sun told Shin Min that the cyclist could not chase the boar away until two Punggol Secondary students rushed to the scene after hearing Ms Ng's screams.
They used the lid of a nearby rubbish bin to help the cyclist protect Ms Ng until the animal scampered off.
The attack occurred just outside her school and Ms Ng told Wanbao: "Now I'm worried that there will be danger for the students (at Punggol Secondary School). There is also a pre-school opposite and if the young children were attacked, the consequences would be unimaginable."
After the news broke, a Pasir Ris resident, Mr Xie, 57, told Shin Min that he saw at least 20 wild boarsat a grass patch near Pasir Ris Farmway 1, where he was jogging, at about 8pm on Wednesday.
"I was on the opposite side of the storm drain about 20m away," said Mr Xie, who is self-employed.
When reporters from Shin Min visited the scene, they found a grass patch littered with chewed up pieces of bread.
Punggol wild boar attacked pregnant woman from behind, was not provoked, says husband
Kok Yufeng Straits Times 30 Aug 18;
SINGAPORE (THE NEW PAPER) - A wild boar suddenly attacked a pregnant woman from behind, inflicting deep cuts on her right calf, at Edgefield Plains in Punggol on Tuesday afternoon (Aug 28).
The incident occurred as she was walking to a bus stop from Punggol Secondary School, where she works as an administrator.
Her husband, who declined to be named, told The New Paper on Wednesday (Aug 29): "The wild boar suddenly attacked her from behind."
He said the attack ended only after a passing cyclist used his bike to fend off the animal, which ran away, leaving her in pain and bleeding badly from her wounds.
BITE MARKS
It was not clear if the boar, which weighs 40kg, had gored her, but her husband said she had many bite marks.
When the story broke on Tuesday night, netizens had speculated whether the woman had provoked the animal.
But her husband denied that she had provoked the animal. "She was attacked from behind."
The wild boar later entered the nearby Waterbay executive condominium, where security guards trapped it in the bin centre. It was then tranquillised and captured.
A wild boar is seen in a condominium
The husband said students from the school also helped his wife, who is in her 30s. She later underwent surgery at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.
Chinese newspaper Shin Min Daily News reported that her foetus was unharmed in the attack.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force said it responded to a call for medical assistance at about 5.15pm at 51 Edgefield Plains, and the woman was conscious when taken to the hospital.
Punggol Secondary School principal Benedict Keh told TNP on Wednesday: "We have reminded our staff and students to be vigilant and watchful of their surroundings.
"We are also working with the relevant authorities to ensure (their) safety."
Waterbay's security supervisor, Mr Douglas Rabin, 44, told TNP that the wild boar charged into the bin centre where several cleaners and a security guard were resting, at about 5.30pm.
"When we shouted, they dashed out. That's when we closed the gate so it could not get out," he said.
The Straits Times understands that the woman suffered from lacerations in the incident which happened near Punggol Secondary School. The wild boar was later found and captured in a nearby executive condominium.
The animal was finally subdued at about 8.10pm after the condominium management called the police and the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA).
Mr Rabin added that the boar had smashed some items in the bin centre but no one was hurt.
Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) personnel relocated the boar to the Lorong Halus area after sedating it.
Acres said the young boar could have come from Lorong Halus, a couple of kilometres south-east of where the attack occurred.
AVA said the boar could have also come from forested areas at the end of Punggol or Coney Island. It said there has been no increase in wild boar sightings there.
Mr Ben Lee, 54, founder of nature conservation group Nature Trekker, told TNP that animals usually do not attack humans unless provoked.
He wondered if the woman might have unknowingly made a movement that the boar found threatening in the unfamiliar urban environment.
Mr Kalai Vanan Balakrishnan, Acres' deputy chief executive, said development works could have caused the boar to venture out of its comfort zone.
Mr Kalai said: "Feeding by people may have had a part to play as well."
TNP reported in 2016 that some families would feed wild boars in the Lorong Halus area.
An AVA spokesman advised the public not to approach, disturb, feed or try to catch any wildlife, including boars.
Residents in the area said they were not surprised by the appearance of a wild boar because of the loss of forested areas to development.
Some, like Mr Eric Kam, 58, were concerned about the safety of the young and the elderly.
"I'm definitely worried because this area has a lot of children. There are so many schools here," he said.
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