A recent video that went viral on social media, featuring a wild boar affectionately named "David", left many Singaporeans in awe at how tame it was.
The video showed the wild boar calmly trotting towards the person behind the camera.
The person then petted it a few times, and even coaxed it to lie down.
Negative implications
While many Facebook commenters expressed their astonishment that the wild boar remained so calm and friendly, others believed that the person was setting a bad example for people who might be inclined to approach wild boars after watching the video.
In response to the video, wildlife rescue organisation Acres told Mothership that although the interaction between the boar and the person was rather heartwarming, it has "negative implications".
Acres' co-Chief Executive Officer Kalai Vanan explained that the friendliness the wild boar displayed was likely a result of training or habituation.
This had probably been achieved by feeding the animal, which led to it becoming accustomed to the person's presence.
Feeding of wildlife, which is illegal, alters their behaviour and encourages them to approach humans for food and to venture out into residential areas.
Additionally, feeding wildlife food meant for human consumption can lead to unchecked increases in the animals' population.
Because such foods typically have high sugar content, wild animals will keep returning once they have a consistent and easy food source, leading to increases in population and human-wildlife conflict.
Kalai said:
"Altered behavior, food provision that can cause increase in population and constant clearing of land for urbanisation is a terrible combination which Singapore as a small island can't afford."
Recent wild boar attacks
Feeding of wildlife could potentially have been one of the reasons behind the recent wild boar attacks at Punggol, a built-up residential area, where a total of four people were reportedly injured.
The boar first hurt two women on Feb. 20. A search party was then mobilised to search for the boar, a lone female who apparently weighed between 40kg and 50kg.
On Feb. 26, a boar which fit the description of the one involved in the attacks was cornered. In the process, it bit a resident and a National Parks Board officer.
The wild boar had to be euthanised unfortunately, due to its aggressive behaviour.
Top photo from Fred Fred Chen Tan / FB and Teo Chee Hean / FB