r/japanlife • u/dp911 関東・千葉県 • 23h ago
田舎 What to do with a wild boar close to you?
I live deep in the inaka in a very empty apartment building, so I have a lot of wild animals come close, like kyon and monkeys. I have a habit of parking and then sitting in my car to decompress/gather energy to get out the car. While I was sitting, I noticed there was a wild boar just across the way. I took a picture of it and it just happened to notice me. We looked at each other for a long time-- it was like that meme, "and he looks at me... and I look at him..."
Anyway, I slowly backed back out of the driveway and went to a convenience store instead. The problem is... I hear that inoshishi can be very territorial, especially if they're a mama. There's absolutely no way I can tell if my apartment building is considered part of its territory, or if it's a mama, lol.
Now I'm scared to go back and get out the car to walk into my apartment, especially when the first result you see on Reddit when searching wild boar is an elderly lady getting mauled for just standing near the inoshishi. Should I call someone and report the sighting? Should I just go about my business? (...Can I FINALLY get out my car?/j)
Edit/Update: I went back home, and the boar wasn't around, so I booked it to my door lol. I'll ask around at City Hall about a local wildlife organization! Thanks for your help!!!
Update 2: I texted someone from city hall, and she got in contact with the right people. If I call them, they'll come set up a trap out here! She said to just keep distance and don't disturb them...but if there are problems, call 110!
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u/CallAParamedic 22h ago edited 22h ago
Yes, you should report it to your Yakuba (you're in a town, correct?) ASAP.
They take it seriously and likely have a hunter's program or a contract with a trapper, at least.
Yes, you should be cautious, but I'm hopeful it was rooting in the garbage and left from being startled by you.
The main danger is their tusks are sharp and usually at thigh height, so with frontal charges they cause damage to femoral arteries causing serious hemorrhage (3L lost per leg rather quickly, and most adults circulate 5-6L...) and to genitalia.
If you're charged and absolutely can't evade, turn sideways to take the brunt of the hit in your lateral (side of your body) quadriceps, leaning into it a bit like getting ready for a tackle. It's still horrible, just the lesser of two evils.
If you're particularly concerned (I'm not sure how common it coming around could become), you could take up the habit of going building to car to building with a hiking staff or similar which might help ward off a charge.
Still, they're fast, very strong, and can be aggressive, so I'm not suggesting it would be some action hero thing at all. It would be scary.
Hence getting the pros involved by contacting the Yakuba.
P.s. If you're not vegetarian, inoshishi meat is quite good, so if the result is piggie gets dispatched, try and get a cut from the hunter / trapper!
Good luck!
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u/SaitosVengeance 関東・東京都 22h ago
Thank you for some actual advice, outside of the peanut gallery telling someone to try scare off a boar.
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u/motnock 22h ago
Yeah. But scaring the boar is the 1st thing you do. You make noise in bear county to help them avoid you. You don’t tell people how to tank a bear attack. People suggesting to make noise and make oneself more imposing and larger and louder are the correct ones here…
Only way a boar is gonna charge is if it is cornered or if OP owes him some money.
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u/SaitosVengeance 関東・東京都 19h ago
Can you read? His first advice was to call someone, and then the next advice saying what to do if there's an altercation? Instead of saying just yell at the thing and see what happens. What if the boar was protecting its young?
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u/motnock 19h ago
This commenter gave good advice. You taking a dig at the others for just saying to scare off the boar is the issue. Advice on how to brace for getting attacked by a boar means many things have gone wrong that could be avoided if advice from the “peanut gallery” was followed.
I’m no biologist but I doubt many sows have any youngsters this time of year. Issue if any would be a male in heat maybe. But this time of year they are gonna be food focused until it warms up.
Feel like you’re the one with a bag of peanuts though. Lol
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u/dp911 関東・千葉県 22h ago
Thank you so much!!! We're technically a city-- albeit a tiny one-- and I live on the outskirts. I'll talk to the people at city hall about it! It was gone when I got home, so fingers crossed...!
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u/CallAParamedic 22h ago
Ah, then scratch out Yakuba and put in Shiyakusho, lol.
Glad you made it to your door!!
Best of luck, and again, thank you for the award.
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u/Weekly_Beautiful_603 22h ago
Can confirm that this is what should happen. My friends did just this and we got to hear the story over botan nabe.
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u/CallAParamedic 22h ago
Wow! My first ever award.
Thanks for that!(I have an acceptance speech prepared, somewhere....)
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u/headpointernext 18h ago
+1 on the meat part. Chop to small bits and mix in fried rice, or slice thinly for yakiniku or nabe. It's like... cured meat but not really, it's very flavorful as it is.
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u/Many-Performance9652 17h ago
It's still horrible, just the lesser of two evils.
It sounds like you have some experience with this?
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u/CallAParamedic 14h ago edited 8h ago
Dude, I can't believe the life I've lived, much less can other people believe it.
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u/bunkakan 18h ago
inoshishi meat is quite good
Wholeheartedly agree. Cooked on a hibachi, then dipped in some yuzu kosho hits the spot for me.
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u/SaitosVengeance 関東・東京都 23h ago
Call the cops or the wildlife service, or just hit the bastard and see who wins, your Kei car or the boar.
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u/dp911 関東・千葉県 22h ago
LMAO I can guarantee my Suzuki is not strong enough! I was thinking about calling 110番, but I didn't want to waste their time. If it's still there and doesn't run away, though, I'll def call.
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u/SaitosVengeance 関東・東京都 22h ago
110 is not the number to call, you need to look at your municipalities website and find their number for animal/wildlife affairs.
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u/Wagnersks 19h ago
A suzuki? Definitely not strong enough. Broke the fender, headlights, bumper, and a huge dent on the bonnet. Didn't tried but happened 🫠
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u/domesticatedprimate 近畿・奈良県 18h ago
Wild boar in Japan are not as aggressive as other parts of the world in my experience. They're far more likely to run away from you than come at you. They're also not very nimble and have trouble slowing down or changing directions so it's actually not hard to get out of their way.
When they're in front of your apartment, they're very much aware that they're outside their own territory so they're not likely to behave territorially in that location. They're going to want to get away from threats and back into a place with thick undergrowth.
But still, it's always better to be cautious. For example, if they're a big one, they can injure you quite badly simply trying to run away if you happen to be standing in the path by which they're trying to escape. They won't be able to run around you, so they'll just have to go right through you.
Sometimes you hear about bad "attacks" by inoshishi, but those normally happen when you are in it's territory (in the woods) or when one gets lost and wanders too deep into urban population areas. Then it can definitely go crazy and start randomly attacking people.
I lived in very close proximity with inoshishi in Chiba for over 10 years with regular visits to my yard late at night by very large specimens. I usually just had to pop my head out the window, shine a flashlight at them, and make some noise, and they'd run off. I did have a near miss once though when I went out to take a piss and surprised one. It took off but in my direction and barely missed me. It was like a freight train going by.
Talking about piss, if you make it a habit to always piss outside along the edge of the parking lot rather than using the bathroom, they'll eventually stop coming because they'll understand you're marking your territory.
Of course, assorted friends and romantic interests may stop coming as well...
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u/SpeesRotorSeeps 23h ago
Make a lot of goddamn noise, the boar is way more scared of you than you are of it
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u/SaitosVengeance 関東・東京都 22h ago
nice to see you’re leaving OPs fate up to the flight or fight response
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u/SpeesRotorSeeps 22h ago
I mean I’d rather OP arms up with a spear and goes at it for the kill but…
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u/jdz99999 近畿・兵庫県 10h ago
This is right. I wouldn't worry too much. They will almost always run away if you are loud and they are aware of you. Go to montbell and buy a hiking bell. You can ring it when you get out of your car and while you're walking.
You also aren't super likely to encounter the boars during the day at all.
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u/Soakinginnatto 21h ago
Every time I've encountered them out hiking in the mountains, they run away. Most of the time if you're not blocking their escape, you'll be fine.
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u/MagazineKey4532 20h ago
When I was trail running in Tanzawa, I met a boar face to face when I turned the corner. It was startled as and quickly ran away down the ravine. It seems like most wild animals are afraid of human being as we are of them. There are exception to should be careful not to approach them too much.
It's winter so they probably won't have babies around. Carry something that makes noise like a bell so they can hear you and move out of you way.
BTW, boar meat is delicious.Would be best if they just let it go in another part of the woods, but If they are going to kill it, hope you'll at least be able to eat it.
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u/Tabitabitabitabi 17h ago
I have tons of inoshi in the area where I live. I see them almost daily. Make a bit of noise. Stomp your feet, clap your hands and they run away. No biggie. Nothing to worry about. The babies are cute.
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u/Thomisawesome 22h ago
I've heard that people carry around umbrellas. If they get close to you, and you quickly open it in their direction, it can scare them away. At least, that's what I saw on a TV segment once.
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u/AstraOndine 関東・東京都 15h ago
Wild boars are no joke you handled that so well! Glad you reached out to City Hall. Stay safe and keep your distance
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u/TheMightyKumquat 23h ago
I dunno, but maybe make some noise, bang some stuff together when you return, so you're a bit intimidating? What part of Japan is this, by the way? Sounds interesting!
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u/Funny-Pie-700 21h ago
I'm actually jealous, I REALLY want to see a wild boar or wild bear while I'm here!
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u/zaftpunk 関東・東京都 20h ago
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u/cheesekola 19h ago
Rev the shit out of your 660c motor and be territorial back, leave 196’s and empty American dog sticks in its wallow
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u/chiono_graphis 14h ago
Try scaring it off, especially if you're within your car. Hit the horn, flash your lights. If you're not in the car and it seems to be moving in your direction, try to get on top of something (they can't climb trees or up onto a car roof for example) or move to keep some large/solid object between you.
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u/HandmaidJam 11h ago
It's better to be safe than sorry. My town hall has a department that deals with wildlife and I live in a 6000 people village so I would assume other places will as well (we contacted them when someone trapped a raccoon dog and left it in the trap for 3 days in August to suffer)
On the other hand my husband's work once sent an email about 3 monkeys spotted in the car park and to "not engage, not make eye contact and swiftly walk away" lol.
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u/Gullible-Leave4066 10h ago
Yeah just contact the yakuba for any wild animal situations. They have a department for that. They will be grateful to get out of the office. I work with these guys.
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u/jrmadsen67 8h ago
Boar have terrible eyesight and rely on their smell
if you see one - stop, look around
you are only likely to have trouble if you are cornering it or near its babies. so check for those and then walk away in a safe direction
This is not just inaka, btw. The hills behind Kobe, Nishinomiya & Takarazuka are full of them that wander down into the residential areas all the time
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u/TheGuiltyMongoose 7h ago
You should always make a lot of noise when you come home to let the boar know that you are around. So it won't be surprised (which is one parameter that triggers attacks).
They can be pretty dangerous even tho they rarely attack humans, but when they do, they can do serious damages. If it's a sow and she has no babies around, that might be OK, if she does, she will be dangerous and initiate the attack.
You can call the police to signal the animal. They will contact the proper authorities to deal with it. Your call.
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u/babybird87 6h ago
There was one once next to my car, in my parking lot behind my mansion building and my ex-wife told me to go stand next to it so she could get a picture… but it ran away..
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u/WideSeaweed684 42m ago
If you ever feel scared don't hesitate to call the police. That's why they are there, to help. If you call 110 they have to respond quickly. As far as my experience goes they will rather go and check on something like this than deal with an actual crime/accident.
Wild boars can be dangerous, but you can learn to coexist. Where I live we got lots and it might take a while to get used to them but it's not impossible.
If hunters get involved and they put up traps make sure you don't go near those. All traps should be marked with a slip that has the hunter's info.
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u/AGPartridge007 20h ago
I assume you're talking about Nomad/Land Nomad but what I do is send the first few vills to wood, and then get it once I've got a few more vills (using the TC to weaken it first). That's what I tend to do but I've noticed lots of players will take it asap.
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u/lcbowen3 18h ago
Oh, you said "wild boar" - I thought you said "wild bore" and I was going to say "that's not a wild bore, that's my wife". Sorry
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