War on Wild Boar (Sus scrofa)- To Kill or Not to Kill?

Wild Boar in Mudumalai, Tamil Nadu

Introduction 

This is my second blog post on Wildcries.com. My first one on the ‘Man-eater of Masinagudi-MDT 23’ drew a reasonably decent response from the viewers from different countries across the globe. Many readers posted their objective comments on the article as well. I am indebted to them. In this episode, I am taking the readers through the status of a relatively innocuous wild animal but branded as a rogue species by agriculturists, the Indian wild boar also known as Andamanese or Moupin pig (Sus scrofa cristatus). An account of the biological traits and behavioural aspects of this animal in its wild settings, practices hovering around their management in the historical time frame, escalating confrontation due to increasing wild boar-human interface, legal protection available to the species and position taken by different range States in India will make an interesting reading. Future management of the species in co-habited landscapes will stand to incisive scrutiny by all stakeholders in the coming years, as in many States, human-centric move of waging a ‘war on wild boar’, by culling the problem animals in select areas for a specified period has been projected as an easy option at hand. 

Reminiscences of Millennium’s arrival 

When I was Conservator of Forests of Coimbatore Forest circle (2000-2005) more than two decades ago, the circle jurisdiction spanned over entire Coimbatore and Nilgiris revenue districts of Tamil Nadu. Anamalai and Mudumalai tiger reserves were not notified then. Western Ghat forests of the region, extending over 3,000 sq.km are a rich repository of unique biodiversity and we have three Protected Areas (PA) including Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park (Coimbatore), Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park and Mukurti National Park (Nilgiris). As a controlling officer, I had to tour extensively in the areas under my charge. For the field officers to stay in interior forests, the department has an elaborate network of Forest Rest Houses (FRH), some of which had completed their centenary. One such FRH-virtually a glass house- at Top Slip is located on the summit of a vast grassy slope commanding a panoramic view of the Pandaravarai peak at 4219 ft above Mean Sea Level. This Rest House, a legacy of British foresters ( constructed in 1926) has glass panels all around its front lobby from where the guest sitting with a cup of tea is blessed with an exhilarating glimpse of the surrounding greenery. Round the year, this grassy patch attracts many herbivores such as elephant, gaur (Indian bison) and spotted deer. Lesser souls like wild boar (Sus scrofa Linn.) use the grassland for digging into the subterranean roots and tubers. 

    Many days on a morning stroll, I used to notice deep trenches on the grassy slope- something to remind the craters created by the impact of a meteor striking the earth- formed by the wild pigs while grubbing for food. There was another purpose for the boars to be there. A tourism complex comprising of three forest lodges are proximate to this FRH. On any day, food wastes from the dining halls send an open invitation to these wild boar families to feast on them. Aren’t they opportunistic and broad-spectrum feeders? I used to ponder. On the same score, dozens of wild pigs used to visit the Forest department’s elephant camps at Kozhikamuthi (Anamalai) and Theppkadu (Mudumalai) - dot at the elephant feeding time in mornings and evenings- to steal the elephant feed comprising of rice balls, ragi (finger millet) balls, jaggery etc., escaping the mouth of the elephants, as they are fed. Although known to be a shy animal, these observations suggested to me that the wild boars don’t despise human proximity unlike most other wild animals. Wild boars didn’t engage my attention as much as the other poster species of the region- elephant, tiger, leopard, gaur, nilgiri tahr- because of their ubiquitous presence and routine sighting. After all in the wild world, rarity confers an aura around an animal species.

Boars in mythology, folk lore and ancient literature

Boars have been a part of human history in many countries. In the UK, Celtic and Anglo-Saxon helmets bearing boar-head crests have been found in a number of places. Celtic and Arthurian mythology has many stories of boar hunts. We find a similar theme in many Greek legends. We have different pig symbolic representations- both negative and positive- across cultures. While pig symbolism stands- over all- for ignorance, greed, uncleanliness, and stubbornness, pigs sign takes a positive meaning in the East, particularly in China and Korea, where it is seen as a symbol of fortune and good luck. The swine of the Bible, probably the wild pig is considered unholy, unfit for the temple, and an abomination to the gods. Biblical symbolism of pig is associated with uncleanliness. In Islamic culture and its mythological tales, eating pork is forbidden.

    In India, this animal had interacted with humans in India since the Upper Paleolithic age corresponding to 40000-10000 BCE. One of the oldest depictions is found in a cave painting in Bhimbetka, Madhya Pradesh. Vedic literature, dating back to 1750-500 BCE has many references to the boar. Brahmanas presents a story of Indira slaying an avaricious boar, who has stolen the treasure of the asuras, then giving its carcass to Vishnu, who offers it as a sacrifice to the gods. In another story, Hindu mythology describes the boar as an avatar of Bhrama, who raised the earth from the primeval waters during creation. In the Ramayana, Mahabaratha and Puranas, the Hindu god Vishnu’s third incarnation, Varaha (meaning boar in Sanskrit) slew the demon Hiranyaksha who dragged the earth to the bottom of the sea and raised the Bhumi out of the water with his tusks. 

History of boar hunting

Boar hunts find frequent mention in Ancient Greek mythology and literature. The first recorded mention of a boar hunt in Europe occurs in 700 BCE in Homer's rendition of the hunt for the Calydonian boar, a region in ancient Greek. An archeological find from Meridia, Spain dated to the sixth to third centuries Before Common Era (BCE) depicts a male youth up on a horse, accompanied by a hound, carrying a spear or javelin and hunting a boar. Hunting, seen as a way of fortifying character and exercising physical vigour became popular among young Romans starting from the third century BCE. 

    In the recorded past boar hunting assumed different formats, some of which were elaborate. For instance, aristocratic hunters of Persia used elephants to chase the boars and encircle them in marshland. The hunter would then use a bow to shoot the boars from a boat. Hunting dogs were used to hunt boar since ancient times. The hunting parties deploy bay dogs to harass and harry the boar, keeping it cornered in one place following which catch dogs grip the boar with their jaws and hold it down by the head until the hunter arrives. Boar hunting in Medieval Europe was mostly done by nobles for the purpose of honing martial skill. During the renaissance period, boars were increasingly hunted as crop predators by the rich, who had firearms for killing them far more quickly and efficiently. 

    Pig-sticking was the more common method of boar hunting by individuals or groups of spearmen on foot or horseback, using a specialized boar spear at all times. In India, pig sticking was popular among the both the common men of Jatts, Gujjars, Rajputs, Sikhs, the nobility comprising of princes and maharajas and the British men alike. Military authorities in British India encouraged boar hunting as good training because "a startled or angry wild boar is a desperate fighter and therefore, the pig-sticker must possess a good eye, a steady hand, a firm seat, a cool head and a courageous heart." Use of box traps and snares were also in vogue in many places across the country for boar hunting.

Wild boar hunts are still a permitted and popular game activity in countries such as Indonesia, Pakistan, Italy, Germany, Poland, Argentina, Russia, Australia, UK and some States in the USA. In India during the current times, snares are clandestinely set along the field bunds and margins to trap the boars that venture for crop predation. Hunters also lure the boars with fruits stuffed with crude country bombs that inflict severe injuries on the animal. In certain places, hunters opt for shooting with unlicensed weapons.   

Wild boar emerging as a symbol of conflict

The most challenging task of (and tiring as well) field foresters in the Western Ghats region is to attend to the mitigation of human-wildlife conflict situations arising in the forest settlements or in the villages bordering the forest boundary. Notable species that are of concern on this count are elephant, leopard, tiger, Indian gaur, and sloth bear. All these species fall in Schedule I of India’s Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 and therefore, are afforded the best of protection in their habitats. Any offence in respect of these animals attract prosecution and on conviction, stricter penalties. 

Wild animals’ foray into human habitations causing loss of properties, livestock and sometimes human life raise alarm calls from communities, seeking for urgent resolution of the conflict. Many a times, aggrieved people in the affected areas resort to their own property-specific containment measures by way of erecting power fences, digging trenches, setting snares in farm fields, using drum beats, air guns, crude country-made bombs (avuttu) embedded in jack fruits, licensed/unlicensed arms etc. Some of these deployments such as directly charged power fence, snare, use of crude bomb and unlicensed weapon are patently illegal in the eyes of law. Many a times they turn into a virtual death trap for wild animals. Electrocution of wild animals and snaring of non-target animals like leopard are common place in high intensity conflict zones. It is a double whammy for the foresters- being answerable to the affected farmers/public for the losses they face and to slap the same complainants with legal proceedings for the sake of the dead/injured wild animals. 

As regards wild boar, their wider distribution across the range States make such conflicts more widespread and frequent. Of late, thousands of wild boar related crop damage claims are filed every year by the farmers. For instance in Kerala, number of incidents of wild boar depredation reported during 2018-19 accounted for 18 per cent of the total of 7890 human-wildlife conflict cases, next only to elephant-related ones. Situation is no different in other states. 

Opportunistic feeders

A peep into their distribution, biology, their ecological behaviour and legal protection status in India will be useful to appreciate the problem in all its dimensions. Originated in Europe and Asia, wild boar was widely introduced into North America. As wild boar inhabits every continent on earth, except probably Antarctica, it is recognized as a cosmopolitan animal. Different sub-species of Sus scrofa are reported in various countries. Two sub-species represent Asian countries. While S.scrofa cristatus is recorded in most of India, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and western Thailand to Isthmus of Kra, S.scrofa davidi is found in Iran, Myanmar and Pakistan. Within the country, major part is represented by Sus scrofa- cristatus and North West India alone supports population of Sus scrofa- davidi. 

Wild boars’ ability to survive in a wide variety of habitats, ranging from grassy savannahs to wooded forests, shrub lands to marshy swamps and agricultural areas and in an assortment of climates make them a gregarious species. Wild boars are known to be omnivorous. While they predominantly eat plant matter, particularly crops, fruits, nuts, roots, and green plants, they are also known to consume bird eggs, small rodents, insects, and worms. They also perform the role of a natural scavenger by feeding on carrion. At opportune moment, they reportedly prey on young ones of lambs, and other livestock. They adjust their diets based on what is available, which can vary with sea-sons, weather conditions, and locations. Predominantly nocturnal in habit, they tend to do most of their foraging in the late evening and into the night. Dietary spectrum of wild boars and the pattern of foraging serve as an important indicator for their preference for cultivated crops.  A study in Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR), Madhya Pradesh indicates that 75 per cent of the diet consisted of plant matter, mainly of grass and subterranean plant parts such as roots and bulbs and the balance comprising of animal matter, stones, and earthworm setae.

Too many wild boars- But how many?

When we think of wild boars, our comparison often goes with domestic pigs parading the streets. Male Indian wild boars at adulthood can grow to a length of five feet with the weight ranging between 90 and136 kg. Females of the same age tend to be smaller than males. Adult Indian wild boar has overall lighter build compared to its European cousins, possesses large mane which runs in a crest along its back from its head to lower body and have a thick, coarse coat of hair covering its body. Wild boars can stand as tall as 0.9 m at their shoulders, tapering off towards their hind quarters. Their upper canine teeth, visible even when their mouth is closed, are generally larger than their lower canines. 

    Boars are characterized by early onset of sexual maturation, with the species entering into reproductive phase within 5 to 7 months of age for male and 10 months for female. Males are polygynous and the females (sows) polyesterus. And the propensity of the species to reproduce any time during the year makes them prolific breeding machines. The females usually produce up to two litters in a year with an average litter size of 5-6. Females reproduce almost as long as they live. With a maximum life span of 9-10 years in the wild, at a conservative estimate a female can add a maximum of up to (8x2x5) 80 boars to the population. In population dynamics operating in Nature, simple arithmetic doesn’t work. With each litter comprising higher numbers, piglets have a high mortality rate to increase the odds of survival for the rest of the litter. That is a natural mechanism operating to keep the population under check. 

    Despite being the principal prey for leopard, wild dog and to some extent tiger and in the midst of hunting pressure from human, wild boar population has uniformly registered a boom across its distribution range. As in any species, mating and propagation are dependent on food availability. And higher fecundity among the wild boar demands availability of adequate food materials within their territories. This seems to be one of the chief causes for crop raiding by wild boars.

    A host of census methodologies are available for estimating wild boar numbers. However, population assessment of wild boar in its distribution range in the country has been the least attempted, mainly because of its ubiquity and abundance. For instance, Uttarakhand state was not able to provide information on the district specific spurt of wild boar with population figures to justify their plea made to the Union Government in 2016 for classifying wild boar as vermin. Most states follow a generic scoring of wild boar presence in the forest divisions in terms such as high, medium abundance and low or nil. Exceptionally, Kerala has presented an estimated population of wild boar for different years in its website. 

                         Year                                        Estimated wild boar population

1993                                                    40963

1997                                                    40425

2002                                                    60940

2011                                                     48034

     When the Kerala Forest Department first ordered the shooting of wild boars in 2011, they substantiated it using a Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) study which said the wild boar population had increased rapidly. However, reliability of that study was questioned by many wildlife enthusiasts on the ground of flawed methodology. Activists in Kerala claim that until now there is no scientific data to prove that wild boar population has increased.

    Isolated studies made by researchers in certain protected areas (PA) of India suggest two things: a) there is wide variation in population density within same PA. In a study of 16 beats in Pench Tiger Reserve of Madhya Pradesh, density of boars ranged from a low of 1.6 boars/ha to a high of 25.5 animals/ha; b) the densities were apparently high in beats that are situated adjacent to human habitation as compared to beats in the core area. It is suffice to understand that wild boar has registered marked population spurt in districts that are hosting large lengths of contiguous forests with adequate vegetal cover on ground. In such forests too, density is usually high in forests abutting farm lands.

What is in store in the Wildlife (Protection) Act?

By virtue of its prevalence across continents, the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) included wild boar as a species of least concern in its Red Data book. 

    It is pertinent to examine the legal protection that wild boar enjoys under the ambit of the National Wildlife Act. When the Act was first promulgated in 1972, animal species found wild in nature that needed protection under its provisions were grouped into Schedules I to V, depending on the individual species’ rarity, threat perception, extent of protection required. The ones included in Schedule V came to be categorized as vermin, which literally meant (vermis in Latin meaning worm) small animals and insects that can be harmful and are difficult to control when they appear in large numbers. At that time, the law identified wild boar as a ‘big game’ and included it in Schedule III, as hunting was permitted in respect of Special game (Schedule Part I of Schedule II), Big game (Schedule III) and Small game (Schedule IV), for which hunting licenses were required. 

    Section 61 provided for power to the Central Government to alter entries in the schedules. Section 61 (2) particularly enabled the State Government to transfer any entry from Part I of Schedule II, Schedule III, IV and V to any other schedule, if in its opinion, it was expedient to do so. This meant that the species listed as games and vermin were interchangeable by the States. Many States moved wild boar to vermin category. Tamil Nadu, for instance, transferred wild boar from Schedule III to V through a notification in 1982, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 61 (2) of the Act. This gave a free run for the agriculturists. The State further declared in 1988 that wild boar will not have the protection of law in private property.

    The law underwent series of major amendments in 1991, 2003, 2006 and 2013. As the wildlife in general continued to suffer serious depletion in the guise of licensed hunting, all flavour of game shooting and hunting and the things associated with it were removed through major amendments in the Act in 1991. There was no more Special game, Big game or Small game in the Act. With the deletion of States’ power to alter entries in the schedules under Section 61 (2), among other things, wild boar remained under Schedule III. That legal position continues till date. As for the subject dealt in this blog post, I consider this amendment can be marked as a watershed event for all the boar-related deliberations in subsequent decades. An amendment Act 2021 has been proposed and is doing rounds calling for comments from stakeholders. 

Mulling over culling 

Ban on hunting, sustained protection efforts and eco-development initiatives led to the posting of significant increase in the population of many wild animals over the last three decades. Population of wild boar too went up sharply. Rise in population of wild boar is not without its fallout, especially in the context of ever-increasing interface between man and wildlife. Their enlarged population forces them to spill over their forest habitats into the adjoining farm fields in the fringe hamlets. 

    The historical wrongs committed by human in diverting large chunks of forest lands situated close to human habitations for the progress of agriculture has brought crop husbandry almost close to the border of the remaining forests. During the 25 years from 1951 to 1976 alone, India lost nearly 2.43 million hectares of forests to agriculture . Earlier a buffer zone belt of 40 m width along the forest boundary line, termed as ‘conservancy area’ was to be maintained free of any cultivation, for instance, as provided in the Board of Revenue standing order-15 in Tamil Nadu. This was with a view to avert the depredation of cultivated crops and minimize wild animal intrusion. With efflux of time, these buffer belts had disappeared and the wild herbivores have a readily inviting ‘dietary cocktail’ in form of assorted agricultural crops. This resulted in crop-raiding by forest animals including boars. 

    By the turn of the first decade of the new millennium, spot reports from over ten states suggested that the man- wild animal relationship in respect of species such as wild boar, blue bull (nilgai), rhesus macaque, spotted deer and peacock was moving from cohabitation to serious conflict. In as much as the power to declare any species as vermin is vested only with the Union Government after the 1991 amendment to the Central Act, most of these States wrote to the Centre seeking its intervention to issue order for place-specific elimination of certain crop destroying animal species. In few instances during 2015 and 2016, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) applied Section 62, acceded to the request of the states like Bihar, and Uttarakhand and issued notifications declaring wild boar as vermin for specific districts and allowed for culling for a period of one year. In other cases, Government of India returned the proposals to the state with an instruction to act under the provisions of Section 11 (b) of the Wildlife Protection Act. As per this Section, the State Chief Wildlife Warden or authorized officers can permit the hunting of wild animals included in Schedule II, III and IV in a specified area for a particular duration, if they have become dangerous to humans or property (including standing crops on any land).

    Starting with 2011, eight states- Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Telengana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu in the chronological order- issued notifications permitting the culling of wild boar in specified areas for certain periods and laid down stipulations to implement the same. Proposal of Goa in this regard is still under the consideration of the Union Government (Map). 

States with Wild Boar culling orders

    Culling refers to reduction of a wild animal population by selective slaughter. Guidelines prescribed that the State can either use departmental officials or a person from an authorized panel of expert shooters to put down the wild boars identified as crop raiders in the specified area. Shooting on no account shall be carried out within the forest limits. Identified individual boar could only be killed using licensed guns, and no other means of killing, such as traps or poison would be allowed. The carcasses of boars eliminated in action are to be disposed in presence of forest officials by burial, averting any scope of consumption by the person on whose land hunting happened or its illegal entry into the meat market. As the correct identification of problematic boars on ground posed problem and with so many riders on the procedure for culling, not many wild boars were eliminated in the first few years of the orders.  Kerala reported that no boar was killed under the order of 2011, renewed in 2013. In Maharashtra and Telangana, only few hundred boars had been reportedly killed. That was the official status on ground for next several years. Meanwhile, farmers continued to suffer crop depredation and consequent economic losses. 

    Not contented with culling orders, loaded with impractical conditions, farmers continued to exert pressure through all available means on the Governments to dish out some order that makes the culling hassle-free. Responding to their demand, the Telangana Government in January 2021 issued an order valid for a year that delegates powers of Honorary Wildlife Wardens to around 12,700 sarpanches across the State, who will have a free hand to give permission to hunt wild boar. The order prescribes that the sarpanch on receipt of a written complaint of crop damage from any farmer has to conduct an assessment of the location along with village elders and farmers, draw a panchanama and permit the hunting of wild boar. Other condition such as hunting is allowed only outside Reserved Forests and Protected Areas and the entire carcass has to be buried in the presence of the forest staff of the area remained. Wildlife activists slammed this blanket order as mischievous in the absence of any proper documentation on the region-specific losses caused due to wild boar attacks in the State. They couched it as a quick fix solution that has a dangerous portent of allowing wildlife hunting parties, without regulation and restriction. 

    Recently in July 2021 in a set of two writ petitions (WP (C) Nos 21207/2020 and 12496/2021), filed by farmers from three districts of Kerala, the Kerala High Court has allowed them to hunt wild boars that destroy their crops.  The order reads  thus: ‘After considering petitions filed by farmers belonging to Pathanamthitta, Malappuram, and Kozhikode districts, I deem it appropriate to pass an interim order directing the Chief Wildlife Warden to permit the petitioners to hunt wild boars in the areas where their agricultural lands are situated, as provided for in Section 11(1) (b) of the Act." With this order in hand, affected farmers themselves or through hired shooters are hunting down wild boars in their farm lands.

                                                              Hunting party in Kerala

Hunted Wild Boars in Kerala

Culling of wild boars- Points, Counter points 

Points

On a scientific note, wild boars are often seen as very destructive to the habitats of other animals in the area. While grubbing for underground food, they may displace soil and remove small undergrowth, encouraging erosion and soil deterioration. Saplings and other woody plants are broken off or uprooted by females as part of their nesting enterprise, inflicting plant injury and impacting the ability of new trees to grow. Girdling and rubbing of matured trees, chewing and rooting of sideway roots of full-fledged trees, and tusking or scent marking with the tusk glands that injures tree bark are typical harsh modes of disturbance by wild boars. Being host to a variety of parasites, many of which are transmissible to human and his domestic animals, wild boars can trigger least recognized human health impacts. 

    With the symbolic courage and ferocity attributed to the boar in many cultures, it can be a formidable beast if provoked/cornered. Under the circumstances, it attacks humans and even pets or other animals and turn dangerous to their life. Domestic animal and human deaths from wild boar attack are not uncommon in India. Kerala, for example, reported five human deaths, 169 cases of human injury and 24 domestic cattle deaths due to wild boar attack during 2018-19.

    It has been roughly estimated that almost 40 per cent of the farmer's income is lost due to wildlife attacks across India. Nilgai (blue bull) and wild boars are shown to be responsible for the maximum destruction of agricultural crops. That the number of compensation claims for crop damage by wild boar is running to thousands in most range states every year affirms this estimation. Wild boar destroys agricultural crops by crushing or eating. It harms crops while wallowing and rooting that causes injury to plant roots, and forms holes and grooves, which can be a potent harm to farm equipment and endanger operations. 

Counter Points

Notwithstanding the slow, guarded and cautious approach in declaring wild boar as vermin, the Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry’s decision to allow some states to cull wild boar in particular districts for specified period has sparked debate among animal right activists, wildlife biologists and conservationists. They argue that the orders are apparently sweeping in nature and could kick-off a random killing spree. Expressing concerns, conservation biologists argue that in the absence of proper study on the population of the species, it is not wise to allow culling. Needless to point, wild boar forms an important link in the food cycle of carnivores and killing them- though location specific- could upset the food chain and lead to ecological imbalance. They support their apprehension from the results of a study conducted at Karnataka’s Bandipur Tiger reserve, where it was found that wild boars provided 83 per cent of biomass consumed by leopard and wild dogs, besides forming a significant source of food for tigers. They also allege that once slotted as vermin, these animals are vulnerable for year round elimination. Hunters can misuse the provisions and the traders in meat can contribute to the illegal wildlife trade.

Future strategies 

The study of spatiotemporal variations in boar-inflicted losses and recognition of reasons that accentuate the risk brings out scientific evidence for developing effectual strategy for handling wild boar-related conflicts. In this context, other means of mitigation too need introspection. Important question arises as to whether a middle path can be taken in the matter. Shooing away the wild boars as they march into farm fields or implementing other means to keep them away rather than resorting to killing is suggested as a solution. Co-operative or community method of securing the matured crops and use of locally effective protective methods may be deployed.

    Graded sensitivity analysis categorizing boar conflict areas in a State into red, orange and green will be of use. Let us see the case of Tamil Nadu. The state has around 3000 forest fringe villages, where interface between man and boar is of prominence. Keeping village as focus, approximate encounter area incorporating the cultivated part and the forest part where movement of wild boar has been observed in the past can be arrived at. Say, this works out to 2 sq.km or 200 ha. This spatial extent can be studied for a year by applying a tested and robust census methodology, which will provide information about the density of boars and its demography in that village. On the basis of differing densities, sensitivity classification of the village can be completed. This will provide some guidance to prioritize problem villages and launch mitigation measures. 

    If above science based methods are engaged to shortlist areas warranting priority action, selective, small scale exclusion of wild boar in such locations will address the issue of controlling wild boar populations more objectively than on an arbitrary ground. That will also convince the wildlife activists to a larger extent. 

    Forest departments have put in place a system of granting ex-gratia or compensation for the crop damage sustained by farmers in wild boar attack. The grievance of the farmer is that the compensation amount hardly matches the actual economic loss. In substitution of compensation, if State Government initiates a crop insurance scheme for susceptible areas by arranging to pay the premium on behalf of the farmers that is likely to be more welcome than the compensation pay out.

    An appropriate synergy between an Early Warning system (EWS) and Light and Bio-Acoustic solutions (LBAS), if built can help to mitigate the crop raids. EWS predicts and informs the farmers on animal movement nearby the farm lands, while solar-powered LBAS can attack the olfactory, cognitive and auditory system of wild animals and deter them from agricultural fields. These have been tested with reasonable efficiency with many large animals like elephant. Depredation by wild boar can be addressed, probably with the development of suitable prototypes.

Take away

Unlike most parts of the world, farmers display remarkable tolerance while reacting to crop losses from wildlife attack. As a field officer, I came across many instances in the field, when a farmer who sustained major crop loss due to elephant depredation would most spiritedly admit that ‘whatever we’ll harvest is what is left after Vinayakar (meaning the elephant god) feeds on’. Most animal species command such respect in India. This is one redeeming ethos of Indian culture, which is broadly prevalent in our society. This must be respected but can’t be a ploy to leave the problem unattended by forest department. 

    More focused attention needs to be given to comprehensive wild boar management in the context of the agricultural mosaic in the areas bordering forest lands, as the agricultural structure of the landscape has a huge bearing on the wild boar-human confrontation. Science based evidence must determine the potential theatres of wild boar conflicts rather than based on arbitrary accounts.

    In the absence of above approach, demand from agrarian communities is likely to escalate day by day and the war which the human waged on wild animals will continue. Future of some of these hapless species might be at stake at the altar of development. 

References

1.Annual Report of Kerala Forest Department 2018-19 https://forest.kerala.gov.in/

2.Boar hunting- From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boar-hunting

3.Kristin Wickline, Sus scrofa, a wild boar. Animal Diversity web, Universtiy of Michigan museum of Zoology, University of Michigan https://www.animaldiversity.org/ 

4.Mahir Haneef, Crop destruction: Kerala High Court allows farmers to hunt wild boars, Times of India July 23, 2021

5.Pig symbolism and Nature. Joy of Nature https://wordbirds.com

6.Shaheer Khan and Orus Ilyas (2018) Status, distribution and feeding habit of Wild Boar Sus scrofa in Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, Idia. Journal of Threatened Taxa 10 (11) 12459-12463 (www.threatenedtaxa.org)

7.Sarpanches in Telangana can now order killing of wild boar. The New Indian Express, 27th January 2021 

8. Sekar,T, (2015) Forest Management in Tamil Nadu- A Historical Perspective, Tamil Nadu Forest Department. P.451

9.Sekar, T.( 2017) Conservation Conundrum- Journey of India’s Wildlife through Ages, Notion Press, Chennai P.368

10.The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Varaha Hindu mythology https://www.britannica.com/editor/

11.The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972- As amended in 2013 (2015) Universal Law Publishing, Gurgaon P 204

12.Trees for Life (2021) Wild boar mythology and folklore https://org.uk/into-the-forests/trees-plants-animals/mammals/