Wild boar goes on rampage in Wakayama; four injured

Monday 15th December, 09:23 AM JST

WAKAYAMA —

Four people were injured on Sunday when a wild boar attacked them in a residential area in Iwade City.

The boar first rammed a 14-year-old junior high school boy riding his bicycle, knocking him to the ground. His 11-year-old brother tried to run away, but the boar chased him and bit his left hand. The boar then used his front legs to attack a 15-year-old high school boy, and then rammed a 40-year-old man who had tried to seek refuge in the elementary school nearby. All four suffered bruises in the attack but were not seriously injured.

Police received several calls around noon saying there was a boar in the area, and two police officers rushed to the scene, where they battled for about 10 minutes to control the animal. Local hunters then killed the boar, which police said was a female about 2 years old, 1 meter long and weighing 80 kilograms.

The scene of the attack was several kilometers from the mountains. Police said there have been five instances of boars damaging crops this year, but that it is rare for them to venture into residential areas.

Kyodo News Service

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Latest 15 of 27 Total Comments Show All

Altria at 01:13 PM JST - 15th December

The boar first rammed a 14-year-old junior high school boy riding his bicycle, knocking him to the ground. His 11-year-old brother tried to run away, but the boar chased him and bit his left hand. The boar then used his front legs to attack a 15-year-old high school boy, and then rammed a 40-year-old man who had tried to seek refuge in the elementary school nearby.

Come on you boar apologists, this boar was out for vengance.
sangetsu at 02:33 PM JST - 15th December

"Hunters getting their jollies", what a joke. I suppose it's more humane to raise a pig in a sty on a farm for 2 years, and truck it live to a processing plant with a couple hundred other panicked pigs rather than to hunt one after it has grown up in the wild, and kill it instantly. The hunters are probably more sensible to life and it's value than the empty headed urban dwellers who get their food knowing nothing of the process it goes through before it gets picked up wrapped in plastic, or served on a plate in a restaurant. In case you are wondering, wild pigs are extremely difficult to tranquilize, and are very difficult to kill, even with a firearm. Most handguns are useless against them. Several years ago a similar event happened, and the police tried to kill a wild boar with two handguns. 18 shots later the town was in a panic, and the pig was still running around, painfully injured, and even more dangerous than before. At this point someone finally brought a rifle and put it out of it's misery with a single shot. Apparently this time, the police decided not to shoot up the town again, and did what was probably the most sensible thing.
cleo at 02:38 PM JST - 15th December

sangetsu, you're preaching to someone who can (and often does) get much more vehement about factory farming than you ever will.
NuckinFutz at 03:17 PM JST - 15th December

Come now people! Everyone knows you have to have the proper hunting license to kill a boar. Had the police shot and killed it they would have faced arrest and heavy fines for illegal hunting. Now, for those of you who might think this a joke ... it's not, the law is the law. Of course there is some logic in calling a hunter to take the shot. A Japanese policeman with a loaded handgun is a frightening thing!
billclinton at 03:57 PM JST - 15th December

two police officers rushed to the scene, where they battled for about 10 minutes to control the animal

I have a scene from the Simpsons in Mind when Wiggum open fired on a swarm of bees in order to see them off.
cleo at 04:14 PM JST - 15th December

A Japanese policeman with a loaded handgun is a frightening thing!

And if he's facing an enraged boar coming straight for him, he's probably a frightened thing, as well.
Disillusioned at 04:57 PM JST - 15th December

By the way, this was a sow, not a boar. Boars have tusks and grow up to three times larger than a sow.
Bertin at 08:15 PM JST - 15th December

that is probably an escaped sow descending from a farm escapee. The US is filled up with huge gaggles of them and they weigh hundred of pounds. All delicious bacon once killed but they defend their lives ferociously. This one seems or sick with rabies or looking for a revenge of a sort, her deportment is not usual. But maybe she felt her piglets were in danger. Poor policemen what can they do if unarmed?
billclinton at 09:49 PM JST - 15th December

his one seems or sick with rabies or looking for a revenge of a sort

Thanks Dr. Dolittle
burikko at 10:16 PM JST - 15th December

In Kobe wild boars are not rare. They use to rummage a garbage can in the town.

http://www.city.kobe.jp/cityoffice/81/e/wildboars/index.html
Sarge at 11:17 PM JST - 15th December

This story reminds of of Ol' Snort from Snuffy Smith!
Ke11iente at 01:52 AM JST - 16th December

Looks like an omen to me. Hurry, someone make more out of this than what it is! What's the hidden mystical meaning of being attacked by a boar?
DZKUN808 at 06:25 AM JST - 16th December

Man bites tonkatsu - tonkatsu bights man, turnabout is fair play. Funny story. I just want to know was it Kurobuta?
bebert at 06:31 AM JST - 16th December

Lord Nago's revenge.
floyd_43 at 06:14 PM JST - 18th December

What a boaring story!