The information comes from the Global Times.
wild boar
Wild boar, a species that you can't possibly ignore.
On the mainland, wild boars may be second only to Siberian tigers and pandas in the news, and in some time periods even more than these two national treasures. Unfortunately, the two national treasures have mostly positive news for us, while the boars have often had mixed reviews.
On the bright side, the increase in wild boars shows the success of the mainland's ecological protection work, and the wild species have a chance to flourish again, but at worst, wild boars are a bit too prosperous, and as early as when they were still in the list of protected animals, many township residents were helpless in the face of wild boars, and even exposed homicides. When they were removed from the list of protected animals, many township residents seemed to have found a chance to take revenge, although they still could not hunt wild boars at will, but they were not so empty.
The paradox behind this is that rapid and effective conservation efforts have not taken into account the human population in the vicinity of natural ecological zones, and that the buffer zone of human-animal conflict and more rational measures to protect people have not kept pace with the conservation efforts. But these things are slowly improving, and we can see that the recent property losses caused by wild animals have been compensated by the relevant authorities, so we just wait for the good news.
But there's nothing wrong with wild boars, they just want to survive. The reason why wild boars are rampant, in addition to the good protection work, is because the number of top predators on the continent is too small, and this is a sin created by humans. Therefore, our attitude towards wild boars should be to stay away from them, not to approach them, and not to hurt them.
Although it sounds nice, wild boars are now a negative image in the eyes of most of the population, and wild boar infestations are a global problem. But what you wouldn't expect is that there is one area where wild boars are almost extinct.
Indonesian wild boar
Borneo whiskered pig, it is a medium-sized artiodactyl of the pig family, the genus Pig, and is also a member of the wild boar. They live mainly in the Indonesian island of Kalimantan, also known as Borneo. There are many pigs, and you can't tell them apart, but you only need to see the Borneo bearded pig once, and you will never forget it if you know a little bit! Why am I so sure?
Although its size and color scheme, "122-148 cm in length, 57-83 kg in weight", "covered in coarse, sparse long hair, light gray to brownish-gray", these seem to be nothing special, but if you look at its deep, melancholy slender eyes, it still hangs upwards, and then look at the unique thick white mustache on its face, which covers almost all the facial areas below the eyes (females have much less beards than males), and there is a cartoon ratio of its large head and small body. It's really easy to distinguish it from other wild boars.
With such a unique appearance, you can realize that it must play a pivotal role in the ecological cycle of the native region. Borneo bearded pigs are known as the "engineers" of the ecosystem! They use their long trunks to dig up earthworms and plant rhizomes in the ground, and in the process they turn the soil reasonably so that the trees can get more nutrients; they also eat everything, and they can eat all kinds of rotten fruits, dead animals, and mushrooms, which also plays the role of decomposers to a certain extent.
Therefore, they are a very popular species in Kalimantan, Indonesia. But now, they are being "persecuted" by other wild boar species.
Swine fever infestation
After all, Kalimantan is an island, and its resources are limited, so many resources still have to be imported, which is of course a very reasonable behavior, but how to control these resources is a big problem. According to a report by the British "Guardian", in 2021, African swine fever was introduced to Kalimantan through the import of raw pork, and after only 3 years, the number of Borneo whiskered pigs has decreased by more than 90%!
An article published in the American journal "Science" a few days ago studied this matter. Researchers believe that African swine fever is spreading in large numbers in Borneo's wild boar population, but it has not received enough attention from the local people, which is the main reason for the decline in the number of barbel pigs in Borneo. In addition, Borneo's bearded pigs are also facing uncontrolled killing by humans, which is simply worse.
Wood, an epidemiologist at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, said that African swine fever should be given full attention in some poor countries in Southeast Asia, otherwise it will cause harm not only to the livestock industry, but also to wild animals. The Borneo whiskered pig is a living example.