Nanjing struggles to tackle wild boar menace as incidents grow

Wild boars have been causing havoc in both urban and rural areas, having been spotted wandering in streets, trotting into shops, destroying crops and even injuring or killing people.

Nanjing, Jiangsu province, is most affected by these animals, which have become a frequent hot topic in the media over the past several months.

Nanjing has seen a rise in wild boar-related incidents, with 1,913 cases reported over the past three years, including 713 last year, according to a report from the Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation. The incidents mainly involved animal disturbances and traffic accidents.

Headlines such as "City Besieged by Wild Boars" and "Why Wild Boars Have Become Regular Visitors to Nanjing" have painted a picture of an escalating conflict between humans and the animals.

The narrative has been further fueled by a recent report in Beijing News that revealed authorities in the city's Pukou district had hired a team of bounty hunters at the beginning of the year to capture wild boars.

The district set a goal for the hunters to capture 200 of the animals by the end of year. The team can receive 1,900 yuan ($261) for each boar weighing less than 30 kilograms; 2,400 yuan for each weighing between 30 kg and 60 kg; and 2,950 yuan for those weighing over 60 kg.

As of October, the hunters have successfully captured 133 wild boars.

Although the number of incidents has increased recently, some wildlife researchers said the situation requires more investigation.

Wild boars, also known as Eurasian wild pigs, are highly adaptable and can thrive in various environments, including mountains, hills, deserts, forests and grasslands.

The boars in Nanjing are a subspecies of Eurasian wild pig commonly found in southern China.

Historically, wild boar populations in China have fluctuated. Over-hunting and habitat reduction during the 20th century caused a dramatic decline in their numbers.

By the early 1990s, their population had dropped to tens of thousands. However, thanks to national ecological restoration efforts, protective laws and increased public awareness, their numbers have rebounded.

Today, there are about 2 million wild boars across 28 provincial-level regions — 26 of which have reported problems with the animals — according to the National Forest and Grassland Administration.

In 2021, the administration launched a pilot program to control wild boar damage in 14 provinces, but Jiangsu was not included.

Professor Li Zhongqiu, a zoologist from the School of Life Sciences at Nanjing University, told China Newsweek that the pilot program selection was based on the density of wild boar populations and the extent of damage they caused to local communities, primarily focusing on areas with significant agricultural impact.

China Newsweek reported that in 2019, the Nanjing Forestry Bureau began monitoring the wild boar population, deploying 142 infrared cameras in areas known for wild boar distributions. The data showed an increase in wild boar density from 2021 to last year.

Ding Jingjing, a senior engineer at the Jiangsu Academy of Forestry, told China Newsweek that low mountain and hilly areas are among the types of habitat most conducive to wild boar living. As omnivores, the animals have a broad diet, consuming plant leaves, fruits, earthworms and small rodents, making the hilly environment ideal for their survival.

Wang Fang, a researcher at the School of Life Sciences at Fudan University in Shanghai, said, "Among the cities in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Nanjing's natural resources can be considered one of the best."

Li, the zoologist, said he believes that very few people have seen boars in the wild in Nanjing.

Yuan Ping is one of them. A passionate nature lover, she has been observing birds, insects and plants while exploring the city's wilderness for over 20 years. She said she often visits Mount Laoshan and Mount Zijin, the two most forested areas around Nanjing, known for their wild boar populations.

In 2022, when a section of the wall around her residential community collapsed, wild boars sneaked in and fed on garbage. Her community is at the foot of Mount Laoshan and close to the forest, she said.

While the appearance of wild boars frightened many of her neighbors, Yuan was thrilled. In May that year, she managed to photograph the animals twice in her neighborhood.

"One time, it was an adult female; another time, a mother with two piglets. They were very shy and sensitive," she said. After the wall was repaired, she never heard of any more sightings in the neighborhood.

Regarding the management of wild boar damage, Li emphasized the need for scientific monitoring of the population, typically using infrared cameras. It is crucial to control the population based on thorough evaluations, rather than resorting to indiscriminate hunting, he said.

"Wild boars have played an important role in maintaining the health of an ecosystem," he said. "After disappearing from our wild areas for dozens of years, they have just managed to restore a stable population in the city. So I don't think we need any drastic measures."