Crow attack in Tampines HDB estate leaves woman, 59, with bleeding scalp

Four people were reportedly attacked by crows in a Tampines Housing and Development Board (HDB) estate on Thursday (Jul. 18).

One of them, a 59-year-old tuition teacher, was heading out to get a package but ended up with a bleeding scalp.

Pecked till scalp bleeding

The woman, Bai (transliteration) told Shin Min Daily News (Shin Min) that the incident happened at the open-air car park at Block 485B Tampines Avenue 9, around noon.

"I was just passing through the car park to get a package nearby, when a crow swooped down and started pecking my head. I was terrified and ran off. Later, I realised that my scalp was bleeding," Bai said.

Bai then went to see a doctor, who prescribed her medication and antibiotics as a precaution against tetanus.

She shared a picture of a wound on her head which was roughly one to two centimetres long, Shin Min reported.

Bai said that she will try to avoid the parking lot when going around the estate in future.

She also hoped that nearby residents would also be more vigilant of such attacks.

Three others attacked that day

Three other residents interviewed by Shin Min said they had been attacked by crows that same day.

A 51-year-old woman said that she got pecked on the head by crows at the carpark, at around 1pm.

"I've been staying here for 24 years, but it's the first time I encountered such an incident. Luckily, I was not injured, but my head still hurts a little," she said.

The other two victims were a pair of siblings.

Guo (transliteration), 26, said that her younger brother got pecked by crows at around 10am on his way to school.

As for her, she was attacked at 4pm when returning from work.

At least 20 crows seen there

A Shin Min reporter observed on Jul. 18 that about half of the 10 trees at the car park had crows perched on them.

There were at least 20 crows in total, including some seen perching on the HDB block.

One resident interviewed by Shin Min said that apart from crows, many pigeons and starlings frequent the estate, and would leave bird droppings on their laundry.

Other residents expressed concerns that birds might attack the children at a nearby preschool.

Not the first time

Crow attacks on unsuspecting passersby in a Bishan HDB estate and outside Orchard Central made headlines last year.

For the Bishan incident, it was speculated that the crows were trying to protect fledglings after tree pruning in the area affected their nests.

Minister for National Development Desmond Lee said in a 2021 parliamentary reply that in 2020, NParks received about 2,750 cases of crow-related feedback, relating to issues such as noise, crow sightings, feeding, and crow attacks.

Lee shared that NParks has taken measures to manage the crow population in Singapore, such as removing crow nests, using crow traps and enforcing littering and illegal bird-feeding, among others.

How to avoid crow attacks?

According to an NParks advisory, one should take an alternate route and avoid dense trees where crows are roosting.

Crows are highly intelligent creatures and can recognise and remember faces.

They are also described to be "grudge-holding" birds and you could have offended them without knowing.

Therefore, the best course of action is to avoid the area they are protecting.

To frighten them off, one can play recorded crow distress calls at different times of the day, for three consecutive days (or more to prevent their return) to disperse them.

Additionally, CDs or shiny metal pieces can be used to reflect sunlight at them as that makes it difficult for them to see where they are going and would scare them away.

However, do note that these methods of frightening will not last as crows may adapt to such gimmicks.

Those who encounter any crow-related issues in your neighbourhood, can contact NParks at 1800 476 1600 or through their online feedback form here.

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Top image from Shin Min Daily News