Wild boar arrivals in Melaka

I REFER to the report “Melaka grappling with invasion of Indonesian wild pigs” (online at https://bit.ly/2lV3dp7). With the fragmentation of natural forests on both Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia, such a movement is anticipated in either direction. Emigration from Sumatra is prompted by deforestation to make way for agricultural crops and expansion of urban developments.

On the Malaysian side, rapid development for housing, infrastructure and industrial estates is driving the wild boar into towns and housing areas. In recent years, wild boar have been seen in supermarkets, libraries, playgrounds and even mosques. With their Indonesian cousins joining in, the public can anticipate more incidents of wild boar showing up in their midst.

Since the invading population from Sumatra is of the same sub-species as that in Malaysia, namely Sus scrofa vittatus, they will interbreed and perhaps produce more robust offspring as they are from a separate gene pool. However, the invaders are not considered as invasive since they are of the same subspecies as the local population. There is the possibility of a population spillover to other states like Negri Sembilan, Selangor and even Perak and Johor. Nonetheless, efforts by the authorities to monitor the situation are commendable. A regular census of the wild boar population should allow us to assess the situation for mitigation purposes.

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DR HAFIDZI MOHD NOOR

Universiti Putra Malaysia