A 14-year-old boy was hospitalized on Saturday morning after being bitten by a wild boar while camping at a beach in the New Territories.
The teenager, who was staying at the Sai Wan Campsite near Tai Long Wan bay in Sai Kung, contacted the police at 5:05 a.m. to report the attack. He told authorities that the boar charged at him while he was at the campsite. The boy was conscious when emergency responders arrived, and he was later taken to Tseung Kwan O Hospital for treatment. Fortunately, his four friends, who were also camping with him, were not injured.
A police spokeswoman confirmed that officers searched the area but found no trace of the animal. The incident has been classified by police as both a “sighting of wild boar” and an “animal bite.”
This attack adds to a troubling series of wild boar incidents in Hong Kong this year. In October, a 29-year-old woman was attacked by a wild boar while sleeping at a campsite on Tai Mo Shan, the city’s tallest mountain. She suffered a leg injury and was taken to Yan Chai Hospital.
In November, a 68-year-old farmer was bitten by a wild boar at his farm in Lei Uk San Tsuen, Ta Kwu Ling, sustaining injuries to his legs and buttocks.
Additionally, a widely circulated video from last Saturday shows a wild boar snatching a hiker’s backpack while she was watching the sunset at Kowloon Peak. In the clip, a man described as the hiker’s friend is seen chasing after the boar to retrieve the bag as the animal runs off with it.
Authorities have expressed growing concern over the increasing frequency of wild boar encounters in urban and rural areas of Hong Kong.
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