Pulau Besar wild boar blood test results out next week

MELAKA: The results of blood sample tests taken from wild boars roaming in Pulau Besar here following reports that its population was growing at an alarming rate, will be known next week. State Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) director Mohd Hasdi Husin said the blood samples of five wild boars taken on Thursday were sent to the National Wildlife Forensic Laboratory in Kuala Lumpur. This is to ascertain if the animals on the island were of the Sus Barbatus species from Indonesia, or Sus Scrofa species from Malaysia. On Friday, Bernama quoted Malaysian Nature Society president Professor Dr Ahmad Ismail as saying that there was no proof to back reports that the rise in the wild boar population on Pulau Besar was caused by the migration of the animals from Sumatra, Indonesia, adding that a study on the wild boar population in the area must first be conducted to affirm the theory.