A 71-year-old man was seriously injured in a wild boar attack yesterday while tending to his farm within the Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary in Pursat province, prompting fellow villagers to hunt down and kill the animal.
Prak An was clearing weeds from his cassava field when he spotted an estimated 100-kilogram wild boar eating his crops, according to Veal Veng District Police Chief Theang Leng. The boar then chased An down, goring him multiple times before fleeing back into the forest.
“When he was chased by the boar, he screamed for help, but no one managed to help him because there were not many people at the farm,” Leng said.
An was sent to the district referral hospital to treat wounds on his waist, left arm and left leg.
Leng said the boar was killed by villagers, and he was unsure if they would eat the beast.
Commune Chief Tep Kan said that the injuries were very serious, but that An’s condition was stable.
“I visited him and I told him that he needed to go to the district referral hospital because the injury was serious, so he should not delay. His family brought him to the hospital, now he is getting better,” he said.
Neither An nor his family could be reached.
Environmentalists have warned that as Cambodia’s growing population continues to encroach on wildlife sanctuaries, human-animal conflicts will become increasingly common.
