Kottooli still tense over wild boars

Animals may have entered wetlands during the 2018 floods

It is often those living in the upland regions and on the edges of forests who complain about wild boars destroying crops and attacking humans. However, Kozhikode city residents too have been complaining of wild boar menace off late

Residents of Mempalakunnu in Kottooli in the Civil Station Ward of the Kozhikode Corporation are on the edge after a man was seriously injured in a wild boar attack a few weeks ago. Even after the empanelled shooters of the Forest department killed two animals a day before, people are worried about a possible straying by the animals into residential areas.

“Kottooli is ideal for boars to breed and grow, with a mix of swamp and hard land constituting its wetlands. They must have entered the city during the floods of 2018 and may have multiplied since then,” local councillor M.N. Praveen said.

Kottooli had been witness to the presence of wild boars for a couple of years, but they had never ventured into residential areas before. “The animals usually destroy crops. But now, they have attacked a man, which changes the equation. Many have even discontinued their daily morning walk for fear of boars,” the councillor said.

Though crops were found destroyed in and around the Kottooli wetlands, local residents have come across only eight boars camped in an acre of vacant land at Meempalakunnu. They are not sure if more animals have camped elsewhere. They usually venture out either at dawn or dusk and hence it is quite difficult for shooters to locate them during the day.

The recent government order empowering local bodies to shoot wild boars, if necessary, has come as a ray of hope for residents of Kottooli. However, the order lacks teeth at present, as the guidelines have not been well laid out for local bodies to act upon. There is no clarity on the procedure to summon empanelled shooters or the burial expenses of dead boars. Since local bodies refuse to take action in such circumstances, the public continues to depend on forest conservators.