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Wild boar enters home in Motegi; injures resident

59 Comments

A wild boar entered a house in Motegi, Tochigi Prefecture, on Sunday, and injured the resident, police said Monday.

According to TBS, the boar apparently came down from nearby mountains. It entered the house and was eating cabbage when it was discovered by the homeowners. One man was injured by the startled animal after he tried to drive it out of the house with his foot. Police say the animal, measuring 120 cm in length, charged at the man, injuring both of his legs.

Witnesses told TBS the boar then fled the house and was not seen again. Police and the local hunting club searched for the boar, but did not find it. Local residents say that boar sightings in residential areas are very rare.

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59 Comments
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Must have made a right pig's ear of the house.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

At least the injuries weren't fatal. Could have been boared to death.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

I guess the animal was bored.

Would have been a perfect ham for my Thanksgiving feast if it came into my house.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

Come on guys, really no need for all these boarish comments.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

The boar was eating cabbage? A little ironic considering how well ham and cabbage go together. I am getting hungry just thinking about it

1 ( +4 / -3 )

Clever boar, not even our great police force was able to arrest him.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I would be angry too is someone kicked me while I was eating cabbage.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

the local hunting club searched for the boar, but did not find it.

Must have been drooling at the chance to shoot a 'rogue' pig. Glad they didn't find it.

Leaving food around attracts all kinds of unwanted visitors - flies, cockroaches, ants, and now pigs. Keep your cabbage in the fridge where it belongs.

Another good reason to keep a dog - wild animals are more likely to avoid a place where they can smell other animals (unless it's a wild animal that eats dogs, of course - in that case, keep the dog in the fridge?)

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

I have hunted Wild Boars in Europe & Africa and I can tell you that you don't want an upset one chasing you.

Very little nervous system to a pig/boar, miss the shot and you got a few hundred kilo of angry pig/boar after you.

Guess who wins one-on one?

1 ( +3 / -2 )

They are all over Butan in the morning Wide Shows here. I hope the poor little country does not get flooded with J-tourists now.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I wonder why they left the door open...

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I don't know about a wild boar, but I had a terrible bore in my house the other week. I feel asleep while he was talking and when I woke up, he was gone.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I saw on TV a similar thing in Nara Pref recently. The boars wander the streets going through rubbish bins. Why they arent controlled by authorities when they are clearly dangerous animals is beyond me. Dogs much smaller and less aggressive would be picked up in the blink of an eye.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

lol...

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

The boar got away. Really? There can only be one conclusion...it was a cabbage loving midget dressed as a boar, who quickly changed costumes, thus escaping detection. I should apply for a job with the Japanese police.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

This will give the next town board meeting something real to talk about.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

If inoshishi are just half as aggressive as an European Warthog, I would never think of kicking one... Injuries (even death) were quite common 100 years ago...

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I think warthogs are only found in Africa.

The European Wild Boar can become fairly big and aggressive. I have heard that the Japanese version is quite a bit smaller, but I have never seen one except for on my dinner plate.

They are also commonly mixed up with feral pigs, which can get absolutely HUGE.

This one says inoshishi, but I would actually guess it is a feral pig http://heavy.sblog.jp/files/inoshishi.jpg

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

"A wild boar entered a house in Motegi," Aren't all boars wild?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

What a "boaring" story! No, seriously...it was an interesting story. A bit scary too. These animals can be very dangerous. Be careful.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

"A wild boar entered a house in Motegi," Aren't all boars wild?

No I wouldn't say wild, a bit rambunctious perhaps? :-)

English is not my native language but I think male domesticated pigs are also called boar (until they are castrated that is).

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Checked several news sites, but no mention in Japanese anywhere of the boar eating cabbage!?

One article says the family were eating lunch at the kotatsu when the boar came in, but when the man kicked it it ran out of the front door...

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

"he tried to drive it out of the house with his foot"

So, he was kicking the poor hungry thing.

"the animal charged at the man"

Heck, if someone was kicking me, I'd charge at him too, or at least charge him with assault!

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Wild pigs are gettting out of hand all across the world.. America, Hawaii, Europe, Australia.. one day Wild Pigs will rule the earth!.. and i'm not joking either.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

cleoNov. 21, 2011 - 12:31PM JST

the local hunting club searched for the boar, but did not find it.

Must have been drooling at the chance to shoot a 'rogue' pig. Glad they didn't find it.

Leaving food around attracts all kinds of unwanted visitors - flies, cockroaches, ants, and now pigs. Keep your cabbage in the fridge where it belongs.

Another good reason to keep a dog - wild animals are more likely to avoid a place where they can smell other animals (unless it's a wild animal that eats dogs, of course - in that case, keep the dog in the fridge?)

Well said, Cleo

What can I say? Boar 1 Keystones 0 I'm very happy the boar got away. Like you, I'm very sure they were after it in order to kill it. It's NOT the first no the last. This country has a fixation with hunting and killing animals, even most of these animals were deliberately provoked by the people involved in such accidents. What the hell were they thinking? To confront and attack a wild animal without caring about the risks of injury? Idiots! Had that boar enter my house, the first thing I'd do is get out and ask for help in GETTING THE ANIMAL OUT. It is really necessary to have the animal slain ALWAYS? This case is very different from having a certain type of human-trained dog mauling a child. Police should be ashamed. They are once again useless!!

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

Not the police, Blue, the 'local hunting club'. Of course they were after it to kill it. It's what 'hunters' do.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Sorry, Cleo.

How would you know how a hunter feels about the prey/kill unless you been one yourself. Sorry, you are projecting for your own benefits/feelings and thus are way off the mark.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Blue, our police force is having a hard time here. All this crime, they are understaffed and nobody allowed them having a SBHTF (Special Boar Hunting Task Force)

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Are you telling me hunters go out with no intention of killing their prey?

I've had plenty of run-ins with our local 'hunting' club - they once sent out a notice telling people to keep their pet homing pigeons locked up on such-and-such a day because they were going on a rampage shooting any bird bigger than a sparrow that they could find.

Whenever there's a story of some wild animal encroaching on 'our' space these hunters always go off looking for it and whenever they find it (or any close approximation) they kill it. Like I said, it's what they do.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Cleo.

Culling is never done lightly and you will never get it.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Local hunting club? Eww... Still, the Police have been involved in most of these cases giving chase and trying to restrain these animals. I thought the Animal shelter people took care of this? Police should keep themselves busy with more important things. Hunting other humans(criminals) is probably more fun, but hey!

-7 ( +0 / -6 )

Culling is never done lightly

Maybe not by you, It's ME, but the 'hunters' I've met in my neck of the woods are quite a different creature. They simply enjoy the chance to take pot-shots at a moving target.

As for not 'getting' it, I'm not the only one - local residents here complained to the council, the mayor and the local MP to get the bird-killing festa stopped.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Cleo.

I don't call them hunters. As for the rest need more info before I can comment.

Bluewitch.

I noticed you got rather strong/vocal views on many subjects (rare) but I agree with you here. I only take what I eat or can use.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

It'S ME

I have to be "strong" whenever I can, in order to spread the message. I have stated a million times that there is endless beauty ad very good things and places in Japan BUT...there is the dark and corrupted side as well. Take no offense. I'll gladly put on my "armor" and go hunt a couple of wild chickens or maybe go fishing with a stick...but as long as it is to feed my family. Animals are living beings and people should respect them. The world does NOT belong to the humans. The human is just a guest in this planet. I believe in balance. Leather/fur...fine to use it to cover yourself if you are living in the north pole, you know? but now you can see millions of animals getting slaughtered in order to satisfy the fashionistas, etc. It's really frustrating. Same with food, hunt what you need to eat. period.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Don't need to be frustrating, relax live your life and lead by an example. Gets the message across way better.

Push the message and force it and you will make way more enemies than converts.

Live and let live. ;) Force never solves anything.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

One thing that MA, etc training taught me. 1st know yourself 100% and be honest about yourself. 2nd know your opponent. 3rd sensitivity is the true key to victory, knowing when to push and when to retreat. 4th the toughest opponent you will face is yourself.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I have hunted Wild Boars in Europe

Have been hunted by them... They ran into our car. The car front was 1 meter shorter after the shock. And they ran away. That was a lady boar and her 3 piglets. I still have the image of them running in the snow... before the car lights stopped and we were in the complete dark. My Mum was driving back her 3 piglets from grandma's in the middle of nowhere, and we were thinking we'd become icicles that night. I guess you get warmer once the car is totally covered by snow. The next car passed 15 minutes later. For me that was like 10 hours. I was disappointed as I thought the boars had left some hair on the car, so I could get it to make a brush. There was nearly nothing. They are incredibly tough.

If inoshishi are just half as aggressive as an European Warthog,

25% in my experience : in the woods, when I kick the inoshishi with a stick he/she goes away, normally. Obviously, not the case in the article. At least in Japan, they don't have rabies. So my fear here is the bears or even the monkeys. French boars don't even realize you are not cuddling them. My town regularly has to pay hunters to cull about 1/2 of the local boar herd. Maybe once every 3 years. It's a woody area, and they have no predators. In Middle-Age, whenever there was a year poor in fruits, nuts, acorns, the village was ransacked by the boars before they could take their crops. Some say that if food was really scarce, boars would chase humans to eat them. Anyway they make people fall when they pass in the villages, and you can die of the injuries. Or they bite when they have rabies. Traditionally Christmas was called the baconic party... the Celts were revenging by catching and roasting a few fat boars. That's after eating all your Autumn veggies that they have the biggest layer of lard, the juiciest hams. Don't wait Spring to get them with only bones and skin.

. It is really necessary to have the animal slain ALWAYS?

Oh no... if you want it to come and visit again and again, to ransack your garden and fields whenever you plant something. Be nice to the boar. Give it a treat. You'll get a 150 kg muddy inoshishi-tomo sleeping on your tatami... It's crispy a slice of tatami. And they are very social. Boars never fail to bring you their big family, their pals.

Keep your cabbage in the fridge where it belongs.

Sure, if you have a big garden, you need a few dozen of big restaurant fridges to keep all your cabbages, potatoes, pumpkin, rice, tsukemono, fruits, etc, of the year. And you count on Tepco for the electricity. Benri.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Cos.

Gotcha. Try getting hit by a Razorback, still want to bag one one day. Those guys are tough and nasty as hell. BTW, I use a crossbow(non-composite) when hunting.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Reckon my chances are 30/70 in his favour(old legs).

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I'm in no way saying that people can't defend themselves...if I was in a life-threatening situation, you bet I will grab a knife or whatever and take the boar/bear/etc.OUT, simple as that. 50/50 of course, either kill or be killed. What I meant in my previous post was that hunting shouldn't be done in the name of pleasure. Its inhumane and sadistic to kill animals so you can have their heads hanging on your wall. I'm with Cleo about the unnecessary huntings these areas. It's rather pathetic the "joy" of killing. That said, if you have the misfortune to have one of these animals entering your home, go outside and stay away from it until help arrives, do not confront or attack. You risk injury or even death. But I guess common sense works in a different way for everyone... if the man of this story had not attack the boar, he would have probably escape without injury.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

Japan needs to start EATING boars, what an idea?? Hey, if eating boar meat became more popular, I bet there would not be so many boars running around wild and doing funny things like eating your cabbage when you are out of your house, YUM YUM! Lets have a BBQ and see who can catch a boar and make it nice and tasty! I would love to make CHICHARRONES and try them from a boar, if you all do not know what chicharrones are look them up on Google, the skin of a pig is cooked, fried?? First in water, boiling water to help melt off the fat, that skin gets nice and tender, bit of salt and lime juice a few beers and you are in HEAVEN!

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

They are immensely destructive, very dangerous, reproduce exponentially

Kurumazaka, pretty much everything reproduces exponentially, including blue cheese mold.

Other than that, I agree with your comments.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

The hog came into a family home and attacked them

I can find no mention in the vernacular press of the animal 'attacking' anyone. It came in through a wide-open door, the man of the house kicked it (and hurt his own foot a bit in the process) and it went out again.

and are smart enough to come back for seconds.

Smart enough not to come back for another kicking?

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

The biggest I saw (in Eastern Europe's snow covered winter mountains) was a real monster... Leading a pack, with bristles standing on it's back and with teeth pointing right out of it's mouth..

0 ( +1 / -1 )

@Kurumazaka If chicharrones will not get the Japanese to kill and EAT wild boar I bet a nice rumor that wild boar meat is like VIAGRA would get all the oyajis out of their futons to go hunting!!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

It is really necessary to have the animal slain ALWAYS?

Oh no... if you want it to come and visit again and again, to ransack your garden and fields whenever you plant something. Be nice to the boar. Give it a treat. You'll get a 150 kg muddy inoshishi-tomo sleeping on your tatami... It's crispy a slice of tatami. And they are very social. Boars never fail to bring you their big family, their pals.

I fully understand your point, kurumazaka.(^_^) I'm certain that some measures need to be taken in order to preserve the balance of those national forests. Here in Japan is another story though. People are deliberately destroying the little habitat they have left, so no more territory to hunt therefore no more food, next, they go preying around our houses. But Cos here, you see, is made a mockery out of my personal opinion therefore If she/he was trying to share some facts about these animals, the point was lost by doing such. I have never stated I keep boars as pets. Mocking people in order to "educate" them is NOT the way to go.

Again, I am someone who do NOT find pleasure shooting animals and killing them, domestic or wild. BUT...If I find myself in a life-threatening situation, I will do whatever it takes to protect my loved ones. Like I said...KILL OR BE KILLED. period.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

kurumazaka -

If I kick a wall and stub my toe in the process, that doesn't translate as 'the wall attacked me'.

If you google this incident, you'll see that JT appears to be the only report in English, and the only report to mention the boar 'charging'. The vernacular reports all state that the man hurt his foot slightly when he kicked the boar, not when the boar attacked him - it didn't attack him at all. In fact there is no mention at all of the boar doing anything but rummaging around the living room for a bit before going out the way it came in. To quote the Yomiuri, 暴れることなく玄関から出て行った - the boar went out of the front door quietly/without any violent behaviour. The man was not gored by any tusks. There was no reason at all for the intrepid local hunting club to get their guns out.

If I walked into my living room to find a bear on the sofa, believe me, my first reaction would not be to kick it.

if the family had had their front door shut in the first place, there would have been no incident.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Sorry, forgot - URL for the Yomiuri version of what happened -

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/news/20111120-OYT1T00537.htm

The local Shimotsuke Shimbun says that the man 'banged/bruised his legs' when trying to get the boar out (両足を打撲した), which again points to the injury being more self-inflicted than anything else. http://www.shimotsuke.co.jp/news/tochigi/local/accident/news/20111120/663309

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Exactly, Cleo.....EXACTLY!! The animal in this story, apparently, wasn't charging into anyone...so why this idiot had to kick the boar?? To prove how strong he is and brave? He did wrong and now he's paying for it..with pain that he unnecessarily caused to himself. He's probably regretting so much right now.

If you find a boar or a BEAR inside your house, what common sense would tells you? To confront it and attack him with all your might? To see who ends up being the "Victor"? or the corpse/carcass?

Nah, I won't take that chance, folks... I love my husband and our 6 children very very much. I love my life and I try to have respect for it. If the situation does not require myself to take a defensive stand, then I won't. If the animals does not charge into me, why would I KICK it? or stab it? or whatever for that matter...

Think about it...Do you appreciate your LIFE? We only live once, you know... and for what I've heard..boars and bears and any kind of wild animals can be extremely dangerous when THREATENED, so please use your head and think before doing something you might end up regretting later.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

To be fair to the man, imagine he was sitting in his living room with his infant son on his knee, eating his lunch and suddenly a wild boar comes wandering in....I can quite understand his mind going into a blind panic. Maybe backing off and taking his son into another room would have been the sensible thing to do, but we all do stupid things when we panic.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Kurumazaka, that's the fun part of posting in a forum..we all learn new things from each other...as long as we keep it civil and have respect, I'm willing to recognize when I'm wrong... (^_^) You know, I'm no angel, I tend to counter-attack "japanophiles" a lot. haha

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Readers, please stay on topic.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The translation is not very accurate. The front door was open. He was with his child having lunch when this boar came into the house and tried to get up into the living room. The guy jumped up and tried to knee the thing outside, but he got slightly scraped on the legs in the incident.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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