Wild Boar runs amok in Tral market, mauls 4

Srinagar, Jan 17: Four civilians were injured Saturday after a wild boar ran amok in Tral town of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, creating panic in a busy market area, officials said.

The animal suddenly appeared in the main Tral market forenoon and attacked pedestrians before authorities intervened.

All four injured were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

“Their condition is stable,” an official said.

Police and wildlife department teams were immediately deployed, and the situation was brought under control, officials said.

Wildlife authorities said wild boar sightings in the Tral area have been reported earlier as well. Suhail Wagay, Wildlife Warden for Pulwama–Shopian, said the animals have been seen moving beyond forested zones.

“They have been found roaming in and around the Shikargah Wildlife Sanctuary and even outside protected areas,” Wagay said.

Wild boars are not native to Kashmir.

They were introduced in the 1840s during the Dogra rule for hunting purposes but later spread into forests and agricultural land.

The species was declared locally extinct in 1984 after disappearing from the region for nearly 30 years.

However, the animals resurfaced around 2013 and their numbers have been rising steadily since then, according to wildlife experts.

Since their return, wild boars have been sighted across north Kashmir, including Uri, Lachipora, Limber, Rafiabad, Rajwar, Balpur and Hajin. They have also expanded into South Kashmir and have been reported in Dachigam National Park and surrounding orchards and farmlands in Srinagar.

Wildlife experts say the growing boar population poses a serious threat to the critically endangered Hangul deer, Kashmir’s only red deer species.

“Wild boars directly compete with Hangul for food and habitat,” a wildlife expert said. “Their rooting and foraging behaviour damages forest floors, water sources and grazing areas critical for the species.”

The animals are also emerging as a major threat to agriculture.

Farmers say boars destroy crops such as saffron, paddy and damage apple orchards by uprooting saplings and digging for roots.

“They move in groups and can wipe out crops overnight,” a farmer said, adding that repeated losses have forced some cultivators to abandon farming in the past.

Wild boars also raise public health concern as they are known to carry diseases that can spread to livestock and humans.

Experts say the resurgence of the species may be linked to changing climate conditions, including warmer winters that support their survival and rapid breeding.

Authorities said they are closely monitoring the situation as boar sightings increasingly extend into urban and semi-urban areas, raising the risk of human-wildlife conflict.