City Corporation’s empanelled shooters cull four wild boars at Kattaikonam

Wild boars are increasingly encroaching on densely populated urban neighbourhoods in Thiruvananthapuram, spooking residents and posing a pertinent threat to early-morning walkers, schoolchildren and two-wheeler riders. 

Recently, residents reported spotting wild boars at Kannammoola, Kazhakuttam, Kattaikonam, Chanthavila and Kowdiar. The Thiruvananthapuram municipal Corporation had created a squad of empanelled shooters with licensed firearms to encounter the menace. 

On Monday night, the shooters, accompanied by local ward councillor D. Ramesan, shot dead four boars which had trespassed on a local neighbourhood at Kattaikonam under the Kazhakuttam zonal health office. 

Two escaped

Corporation officials said the shooters targeted six wild boars, but two managed to evade them. 

Officials said wild boars, essentially voracious eaters and scavengers, seemed to have developed a taste for urban waste. The wild boar menace affects at least 11 districts in the State. 

Wild boars have adversely affected the rural economy in Thiruvananthapuram district by destroying tapioca and other tuber crops. With no guarantee of a good harvest, farmers have almost abandoned tuber cultivation in the district, leaving large swathes of arable land untended and overgrown. Wild boars also target rubber saplings, making replantation difficult. 

According to government estimates, wild animals, chiefly boars and elephants, have ravaged an estimated 9,000 hectares of tubers and paddy in the State since 2023. 

According to the State government, the wild boar menace affected an estimated 243 panchayats spread across 54 Assembly constituencies in the State. Worryingly for farmers, residents spotted wild boars in coastal Alappuzha as well.

The Thiruvananthapuram city Corporation authorities utilised the powers vested in the heads of local bodies as honorary Chief Wildlife Wardens to eliminate wild boars that menace human habitations and raid agricultural lands. 

However, empanelled shooters with licensed weapons were at a premium in the district. The authorities paid ₹1,000 to the shooters for each culled boar and an additional ₹1,500 for scientifically disposing of the carcasses in the presence of forest enforcers and municipal health officials.

Waste dumping

Municipal officials said wild boars, prolific breeders, were fast expanding their range in the capital district. They have warned residents against dumping waste in public places, a magnet for scavenging wild boars.