In this blog post, i will share with you basic background info about the Wild Boars, their conflict with humans and Singaporean's perception and attitudes of Wild Boars, and threats to their population
A Wild Boar calf. Photo taken from: WallpapersCraft.com
Introduction
Wild Boars
HP 3203 Conservation Psychology
Introduction
What are Wild Boars?
The wild boar (Sus scrofa), originally from the European continent, have its presence in many regions now such as North Africa, Asia, Japan and Taiwan due to their strong adaptability. They are adaptive omnivores, feeding mainly on a variety of seeds, young plants, fallen fruits, invertebrates and carrion that are present in the environment. They weigh up to 100kg and can live for over 20 years. Wild boars have a gestation period of 120 days allowing them to produce 4 to 6 piglets a year.
Where to find them in Singapore?
Initially thought to be eradicated on mainland Singapore due to the lack of confirmed records, but present on two of Singapore’s offshore islands – Pulau Tekong and Pulau Ubin, where they did not have natural predators. However, reports gathered in recent years found that sightings of wild pigs were increasingly common on mainland Singapore. It is hypothesized that the recolonization of wild boars may have occurred due to them swimming across from the Straits of Johore; due to their development of urban landscape projects or from Pulau Ubin and Pulau Tekong. The wild pigs are capable swimmers, able to swim over 9km in the sea and other water bodies like rivers or lakes. Today, these mammals, who are classified as having the largest known established mammal population in Singapore are commonly found in the Western Catchment areas (Kranji Reservoir and Choa Chu Kang) and Central Catchment areas (north of the Pan-Island Expressway and Lower Peirce Reservoir) around Singapore.
Photo taken from Google maps and edited with Microsoft Paint
In this blog post, I will share with you basic background information about Wild Boars, their conflict with humans, Singaporeans' perceptions of and attitudes of Wild Boars and threats to their population
A Wild Boar calf. Photo taken from: WallpapersCraft.com
Wild boar foot print with distinct two-toes characteristics
Photo taken by Brandon Ng
How to spot their presence?
(Hover your mouse over the images)
Wallow pit dug by wild boars - a comfortable place where they relax and roll in mud, leaves and water
Photo taken by Andie Ang
Mud stains on tree stems as the wild pigs rub their muddy bodies against trees for grooming purposes
Photo taken from http://www.suwanneeriverranch.com/wild-boars-hog-sign.htm
The behaviours and activities of the wild boars can pose a threat to the natural and human environment
Damages caused
Icons taken from thenounproject.com
A little something
A short timelapse taken by me during sunrise at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) where sightings of wild boars are common.
In this video, certain characteristics mentioned above is evident - the exposed tree roots and unregenerable soil due to repeated trampling and the wild boars of different sizes is evident that 4 - 6 piglets can be produced during one cycle of pregnancy.
Why the increase in Wild Boar sightings in recent years?
It was likely that these wild boars were fed regularly, hence it led to them coming back to urban areas
Feeding of Wild Boars will lead to them coming back for more. Reasons for feeding them includes;
"It is so fun feeding the boars, its like feeding in the zoo, but free."
23-year-old Male
"Such a waste throwing away old food, might as well feed the boars."
28-year-old Female
"So poor thing seeing the boars without food, especially the baby boars. I spend quite a bit of money feeding them every month."
56-year-old Female
As Singapore continues to expand to tailor to the increasing population size, more land areas such as forests are being cleared. Such forest are homes of many wild boars and clearing them leads to the followings:
1) Wild boars relocating, possibly into urban spaces
2) The noise from nearby construction sites chases the wild boars away, possibly into urban areas
3) Cleared land exposes the wild boar who were leaving there all along
"The rise of wild boar sightings in Punggol is not necessarily linked to their population growth. It could be due to more recent urban development in the area, such as new homes."
-Wildlife consultant, Subaraj Rajathrai in an interview by The Straits Times
Singaporeans' attitude and awareness of wild boars
I conducted a simple survey to find out what are Singaporeans' attitude, awareness and perception of wild boars. The objective of the survey was to find out if Singaporeans find wild boars as a threat and whether they can co-exist with humans. A total of 32 responses were recorded.
Some of the questions include:
"Have you seen a wild boar in Singapore before?"
"How comfortable are you knowing that wild boars are living around you?"
"Do you think Singapore's native wild boars will pose a threat to your life?"
"Do you think it is possible for humans and native wild boars to share a common living space?"
No:
"They are dangerous"
"They should be caged up"
Yes:
"They are just animals"
"They are part of the habitat"
"Eradicating them disrupts the ecosystem"
Yes:
"They are scary looking"
"They are dangerous when they go crazy"
No:
"I know how to avoid them"
"They have their own habitat"
"They won't attack unless provoked"
(Hover over the image for responses)
(Hover over the image for responses)
No:
"The boars might get out of control"
"They might get territorial and attack humans"
Yes:
"This is a home to both"
"Humans are the trespassers"
"They won't enter human space unless affected by our doings"
(Hover over the image for responses)
About the author
Brandon is a penultimate psychology student from Nanyang Technological University. He took up conservation psychology as he has a strong interest in the environment and the wild life. He chose the topic of the Wild Boars as he worked closely with them during his term as a Wildlife Trapping apprentice at a wildlife management company as a part-time summer job. Although a contradictory job scope in the field of conservation psychology, he took it up as a unique and challenging experience. In addition, he lives just beside the forest in his dorm, he comes into close contact within 10 meters of the wild boars on a daily basis, forging a form of connection and relationship between them.
What can you do?
Culling
-Where wild animals are put down peacefully as a measure to control its population size.
The government and the relevant authorities will not take actions or cull the wild boars unless they receive feedback from the public or if the boars threatens the safety of the public.
Human behaviours are driven by emotions such as empathy and sympathy which is why wild boars are often fed. In addition, humans do not perceived them as a threatening specie. Further, humans perceive their behaviour of feeding as a positive one where they contribute to the 'conservation' of the wildlife species. Sadly, these good behaviours actually does more harm, endangering the population of their species.
Hence, the future of the wild boar population lies in our hands. To protect them, we should stop feeding them. We think that we are helping them, but we are only reducing their population size by doing so.