From Johor Buzz
By Sim Bak Heng
2010/03/18

A VISITOR lays a sumptuous spread on the ground and stands aside. Then he calls out “Taiko, Taiko, Lai Lai Lai! (Big brother, come, come, come!)”. Within minutes, it was not humans but a herd of wild boars that of different sizes emerged from the forest and headed towards the direction of food. The animals did not seem to be afraid of people and some of itthem would even get close enough to be hand-fed with buns by visitors. who bring leftover food from restaurants and as well as buns.

The appearance discovery of the herd of wild boar herd at a low-lying area near Jalan Genuang in Segamat has become the talk of the the town for the past three months although the animals have been coming out there for almost about a year. Instead of conservationists and researchers, those who came to came toand see the animals were mostly from thebasically those who are curious andas well as punters, who come from from as far as Negri Sembilan, Kuala Lumpur and Pahang.

The number of visitors peaks every weekend. Locals said the number of visitors grew when the spread of news of some people becoming rich visitors who struck a fortune after touching and feeding the wild boars began to spread. Some villagers believe that the appearance of the wild boars may signal the depletion of food source in the jungle, while others opined that development had taken a toll on its habitat. Checks showed that there were herd consists of nine animals, including three babysmall boars, in the herd.

C.Y. Kang, 55, of Taman Segamat Baru, said the wild boars would come out between 5pm and 6.30pm daily. for food. “Some people will bring alone food and bread as early as 5pm. and wait for them to appear. from the forest. Sometimes, the animals will come out atas early as 5.15pm and there are occasions when they appear after 6pm. “Their favourite food are noodles, eggs yolks and buns,” he said.

Although most of the wild boars enjoy the food placed in wooden boxes, one or two will approach visitors for extra food. Kang said he heard of a news that of a group of four visitors people who came and touched the wild boars, and three of them won lotteriesstruck a fortune at the same time. “There was another man from Gemas who came here twice and struck the lottery after both visits,” he said. adding that he had already came for the fifth time but luck was not on his side yet.

Housewife Wong Siew Ling, 44, said it was her second visittime coming to see the wild boars. “I brought buttered bread. The boars do not like it plain,bread,” she said.