Wild Boar Crossing, Haifa. NY Times
Wild boars are slowly taking over a city in Israel. Over the last 10 years it seems that the sightings of the hairy and strong wild animals have multiplied by double or more. They are found playing in kiddie swimming pools, playing with lawn chairs, eating out of garbage cans, but the boars are becoming more of a problem in recent years as residents have started actively feeding them.
No one really knows why there are so many wild boars running around the northern city of Haifa these days. Some say it was a 2016 wildfire in the nearby forest that destroyed their habitat. Others say it is the 2019 ban on hunting, instated by the mayor. It could also be the COVID pandemic which inadvertently helped cities around the world re-wild. The feeding seems to be the biggest factor.
Grandma feeding the cats, I mean, wild boars. NY Times
“They are controlling the streets now. It’s crazy.” Said one local in a NY Times interview.
When faced with a 300 pound female boar, it’s a dangerous situation. There have been reports of the wild boars attacking children and pets and it’s a matter of time that a tragedy will strike if people don’t stop feeding them.
A new study by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority has found that about 1,000 residents of Haifa are actively feeding the animals, undermining efforts to prevent them from roaming the city streets. (Maybe it’s because they are originally European?) Some of the residents think they are feeding the local street cats but the boars enjoy the cat kibbles just as much as any kitten.
The city has efforts underway to control the wild boars, by pinning down garbage cans so they can’t be overturned, and fencing has been put up to limit access to the city, but the continued feeding has dampened any success.
Feeding them by hand lessens the natural fear response the boars should have to humans. The boars who show signs of aggression are euthanised and the city says they have euthanised about 200 in the last years.
Imagine Canadians feeding wild bears? It basically wouldn’t happen. People who live in the wild know the dangers of the wild. The wild boar problem in Israel is not the problem of nature. It’s the problem of us. It’s a social problem. If we keep expanding, creating habitat loss, the animals will have no where to go.
Author: Karin Kloosterman
Karin Kloosterman is an award-winning journalist, innovation strategist, and founder of Green Prophet, one of the Middle East’s pioneering sustainability platforms. She has ranked in the Top 10 of Verizon innovation competitions, participated in NASA-linked challenges, and spoken worldwide on climate, food security, and future resilience. With an IoT technology patent, features in Canada’s National Post, and leadership inside teams building next-generation agricultural and planetary systems — including Mars-farming concepts — Karin operates at the intersection of storytelling, science, and systems change. She doesn’t report on the future – she helps design it. Reach out directly to [email protected]
