“I thought I was imagining it. How did it get here? Oh my God,” a passerby said in a video showing the wild boar, an animal most closely associated in Israel with the northern city of Haifa, where such sightings are common.
The wild boar in Yavne
(Video: MYavne Youtube channel )
The boar that entered the conservatory garden was collected by inspectors from the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the municipal veterinary service. Officials said they had identified the same animal a day earlier after it attacked girls at a residential facility in Yavne and attempted to drive it away. When they arrived to capture it Monday, they determined it was injured.
Following its death, the boar will undergo tests, including for rabies, because its behavior was considered unusual.
The Yavne Municipality said the area is fenced off and closed to the public and that the incident was fully under control. The city added that the site was sealed to prevent access by residents and others.
Tomer Nisimyan, chief veterinarian of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, said the boar had behaved abnormally for two days. “Yesterday it entered a residential facility near Yavne and today the conservatory grounds in Yavne. In both cases, Nature and Parks Authority teams were dispatched to the scene. Upon our arrival, it was decided to tranquilize the boar with a dart and attempt to release it in a nature reserve,” he said.
“Upon arrival at the reserve and after a physical examination, it was found that the boar was suffering from significant medical problems that likely explain its behavior. It did not recover from the anesthesia and was pronounced dead at the scene. It was sent for a necropsy at the Veterinary Institute of the Nature and Parks Authority.”
Nisimyan added that wild animals are becoming accustomed to urban environments, approaching residential areas and creating nuisances and dangers for the public. “It is important to keep your distance from wild animals — do not feed them and do not leave food or garbage in open areas,” he said.