Flood-hit wild boar kills villager in Cooch Behar, second time in 12 hours
Times of India | 9 October 2025Experts said stress-induced hormonal changes in the herbivores after the floods may have led to back-to-back deaths in wild boar attacks in flood-hit zones.
Ecologists said herbivores like wild boars possess sharp elongated canines or tusks and teeth that function as grinders due to their continuous feeding habits. These are fatal to humans when attacked by wild boars.
Tranquilliser teams and elephant squads of forest dept are searching for the wild boars.
On Wednesday, 65-year-old Kashikanta Barman, a resident of Bhelakopa village, was fishing in the Torsa. In the morning, villagers found his mutilated body on the riverbank. On Tuesday afternoon, Dhiren Barman, 50, was killed by a wild boar on the banks of Jaldhaka at Simulguri Tetlichhora.
Ecologist Arkajyoti Mukherjee said: "During floods, wild boars experience stress from habitat loss and food scarcity, triggering surges of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.
This heightens fear and aggression, often leading to attacks on humans when the animals feel cornered." "Also, their elongated canines are capable of killing a human," he added.
Conservationist Arjan Basu Roy said the premolars and molars on upper and lower jaws of wild boars are sharp and function as grinders. "Not only boars, even cows and goats have strong teeth due to their continuous feeding habits. Unlike carnivores such as tigers, which tear and swallow meat, herbivores chew their food thoroughly, which makes their teeth act as grinders," he said, adding that during attacks, herbivores like rhinos or wild boars are more likely to bite rather than use their horns or elongated canines to attack humans.
He recalled an incident where a rhino near Siliguri had attacked a man by biting his waist, resulting in severe injuries. "In 2000, a constable was killed after being attacked by a spotted deer at the Bhopal farm house of a political functionary," Basu Roy added. He said small mammals like wild boars are far more agile than humans in terms of using their neck and shoulders. "Their neck-shoulder and teeth strength combine to make such attacks fatal for humans," he added.
The dept has deployed five kunki elephants to trace the wild boars on the banks of Jaldhaka and Torsa. Tranquillising teams are also accompanying jumbo squads.
Many animals were swept away from Gorumara and Jaldapara by the flood waters. Carcasses of animals, including two leopards, a rhino, four Indian bison, and four sambar deer, have been recovered.
"We do not know how many wild boars have been swept in," an official said, adding that fishing along riverbanks, especially at night, is risky. "We are urging villagers not to venture near the riverside, particularly at night, until waters recede," he added.
