Boar on the Loose: Qingdao’s Wild Warning – What You Need to Know
2024-11-06 07:42:38 Source: Qingdao Publicity
“A woman was attacked by a wild boar and fell to the ground while protecting her neighbor’s children.” “Wild boars have become a frequent visitor to Nanjing.” Recently, news about wild boars “entering the city” frequently causing trouble has attracted attention. Relevant data are indeed “not to be underestimated”: Currently, wild boars are distributed in 28 provinces across the country, with a population of 2 million, and their harm is becoming increasingly serious.
In recent years, wild animals have often fallen in love with the “Citywalk”, but it is rare to see them as “dazzling” as wild boars.
On October 25, a wild boar went on a rampage in Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, injuring four people. The local police shot it to death. Source: Urban Live Public Account
“Nothing is good or bad, and if it is too much, it will cause disaster.” While the ecological environment is improving to the naked eye, how to effectively restrain “arrogant” species such as wild boars, reduce their interference with normal human activities, and avoid causing harm has become a New topic.
1. The walking “history of domesticated civilization”
“Pig, you have dark eyes, and you can’t see anywhere when you look around. Pig, your ears are so big…” There was once a song called “Pig Song” that became popular. The playful lyrics made pigs look… Very cute. But compared with the domestic pigs raised today, wild boars are not only larger in size, they also have sharp tusks and huge brute force, making them very ferocious.
In autumn, wild boars prefer to go down the mountains to forage. Source: National Emergency Broadcasting related reports
The history of wild boar domestication can be traced back to the Neolithic Age, nearly 10,000 years ago. Among the six animals, our ancestors also seemed to have a “high regard” for pigs. In ancient Chinese, the word for pig is “豕”. The word “豕” under “倀” means “home”. The shape of the word “家” in oracle bone inscriptions is like a pig under a roof. This not only reflects the material life of home. The importance of security reflects the ancient people’s cherishment of family. Today, pork is still a “hard dish” on the Chinese dining table, accounting for more than half of the total meat production.
The bronze pig statue of the Shang Dynasty seems to be an adult wild boar (collected by Hunan Museum). From wild boar to domestic pig, it is a “living specimen” of species evolution. For a long time in the past, due to environmental degradation and ecological imbalance, the living space of many wild animals, including wild boars, has been squeezed and their traces have been hard to find. With the improvement of environmental awareness and the implementation of environmental protection measures, people can finally see the return of “wildness”. After all, this world not only belongs to humans, but protecting wild animals means protecting humans themselves.
2. Visible ecological “balance beam”
Among the people, there is a traditional saying of “one pig, two bears, three tigers”, which means that wild boars may be much more dangerous than bears and tigers in many cases. In recent decades, with changes in the living environment, wild boars have generally gone through a process from “small numbers” to “living well” and now “playing wild”.
Balance is one of the most important laws of nature. The current proliferation of wild boars also allows us to intuitively see the consequences of “imbalance”.
A wild boar appears in a cornfield. Source: Xinhua News Agency
When my country’s first Wildlife Protection Law was implemented in 1989, the number of wild boars dropped sharply due to over-hunting and other reasons, and they were partially extinct in some places. In 2000, wild boars were included in the national “Three Species” list. Under conservation measures, its population has gradually recovered. Starting from June 2023, wild boars will be removed from the “List of Terrestrial Wild Animals with Important Ecological, Scientific, and Social Values” and can be hunted without applying for a “Hunting License.”
Nature always maintains balance in its own way. The influence exerted by humans may change a certain balance. Once the “balance” is broken, new measures need to be taken to regain a new “balance”.
In recent years, there have been many cases of wild animals hurting people. For example, incidents of “wild monkeys hurting people” often occur in many scenic spots. On the one hand, this is a reflection of the achievements of nature protection and the progress of ecological concepts; on the other hand, too many monkeys also pose a safety threat to tourists. This balance really needs to be accurately struck.
In September this year, a tourist was attacked by a group of monkeys in Qianling Mountain, Guizhou, which caused concern
When there are frequent incidents of wild animals hurting people or disturbing people, the voice of “wild animals or people is more important” will be heard from time to time. This is of course a false proposition. All living things coexist and prosper together. To achieve a good ecological “balance beam” requires all Society jointly “solves the problem.”
3. “Intrusion” cases inside and outside hot searches
In recent times, wild boars have frequently invaded human activity areas and “caused trouble.” Enter the keyword “wild boar” on social media, and a series of hot search terms will pop up.
By extension, the harm or potential threats caused by wild boars cannot be underestimated, but there are many invasive species that also require sufficient attention.
For example, water hyacinth, known as the “river killer”, once flooded the vast waters of our country, causing “green pollution”; Spartina alterniflora grew wildly on some coastal beaches, causing “indigenous” plants, microorganisms and shrimps, Shells, small crabs, etc. are gradually decreasing, and migratory birds have to leave because they cannot find food; highly aggressive fire ants have invaded many provinces, causing serious damage to human health after being bitten; tilapia, crocodile gar, etc. Invasive organisms also endanger the survival of native fish…
Biological invasions are one of the major ecological problems facing the world. my country has recorded more than 660 invasive alien species and is one of the countries with serious biological invasions in the world. More than 50 of the world’s 100 most threatening invasive species have invaded China, seriously threatening the survival of native species and causing direct economic losses of more than 200 billion yuan every year.
The ant nest shape of red imported fire ants in the wild and the morphology of red imported fire ant workers under the microscope Source: Xinhua News Agency
In fact, the invasion of many species is not as “blatant” as that of wild boars, but happens quietly around us. Only after a certain time scale is extended, we will suddenly wake up and realize the serious consequences. Many species invasions are even caused by our own hands due to “ignorance” or “underestimation of the enemy”, such as the blind release of Brazilian turtles, alligator gar, etc., which unknowingly trigger ecological disasters on a certain scale.
4. Atypical “wild” samples
Because they are well protected, coupled with internal and external conditions such as the lack of natural enemies and strong reproductive capabilities, the wild boar population has grown rapidly.
Of course, it must be noted that the “wild boar phenomenon” is only an extremely rare case. For most protected animals, the improvement of their living environment and the recovery of their populations will take longer and more patience.
A pair of wild giant pandas photographed in the Tangjiahe area of the Giant Panda National Park. Source: Xinhua News Agency
For example, due to blind human activities, the number of giant pandas in our country once decreased rapidly, and wild giant pandas were once on the verge of extinction. With the implementation of a series of conservation efforts, the number of giant pandas has shown significant changes, growing from about 1,100 in the 1980s to nearly 1,900 now. October 27 is designated as “International Panda Day” every year. It calls on all sectors of society at home and abroad to care for other endangered wild animals and plants as much as they love giant pandas, and jointly promote the realization of global biodiversity conservation goals.
Our efforts have also yielded many “wild” achievements. For example, the population of the Yangtze finless porpoise, the “giant panda in the water”, has grown steadily due to conservation measures such as the “ten-year ban on fishing” in the Yangtze River and breakthroughs in artificial breeding and breeding technology.
The natural environment needs to be more “wild”. Studies have shown that global natural ecosystems are still deteriorating, and ecosystem resilience continues to decrease, threatening the normal operation of ecosystems. In the past 50 years, the average size of monitored wild animal populations has shrunk by about 70%. Once the critical point is exceeded, the balance of the earth’s ecosystem will be disrupted, threatening the survival of all humans and wild species.
Thousands of years ago, many wild animals were “domesticated”; now, some animals have been “wilded” again. For example, under the “Wild Horse Returning Project”, the wild population of Przewalski’s horses has been gradually restored and rebuilt.
The world’s only wild horse species, Przewalski’s horse, gallops freely in the Kalamaili Nature Reserve in Xinjiang. Source: Xinhua News Agency
The wild boars that “run wild” serve as a reminder for the protection of wild animals. It is necessary to protect their growth and prevent their excessive growth. But for most wild animals, they still need to be carefully cared for, and the world needs a little more “wildness”. This is to protect them and the nature on which we depend for survival.
Author: Harmony
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