Most of Singapore’s parks aren’t exactly known for their wildlife — except for the occasional otter family — so one woman was certainly caught off guard when her evening stroll was disrupted by a wild boar attack.
She was walking home with her husband from Sungei Api Api Park on Tues (Nov 17) when a wild boar suddenly charged at her in the vicinity of Pasir Ris Drive 3, leaving her with lacerations on her legs, Shin Min Daily News reported..
“I felt a burst of intense pain on my left leg. I was completely knocked over, and I fell face first,” the 50-year-old woman told the Chinese daily.
After running into her, the animal, which was about 1.2m long and an estimated 40kg darted away and disappeared within a few seconds.
But the brief encounter was enough to leave the woman with injuries on her face and a 10cm long, 3cm wide gash on her left thigh that exposed the bone.
Her husband rushed to drive her to the hospital, where she remains warded until Sunday (Nov 22).
After undergoing a three-hour oral surgery, she is currently only able to consume soft foods such as porridge and milk.
The impact of the fall injured some of the bones in her oral cavity and caused her teeth to be “squeezed inward”, she said, lamenting that she may lose four teeth if her condition does not improve.
She also has “lingering fears” from the incident and is now afraid to go on walks in the park.
While there haven’t been many wild boar sightings in the area, their tracks have been spotted at a beach about 700m away from the scene of the attack, a resident said.
According to an advisory by the National Parks board, human-wild boar conflict can be chalked up to an increase in wild boar population and more of them making their way into parks, roads and residential areas.
If members of the public encounter wild boars, they should keep a safe distance, remain calm and move away slowly.
