Cecilia Campbell has been doing the legwork for a number of the men who have been attacked by a number of wild boar; and her role has been essential to their survival, in keeping their number down and their numbers high. She was one of nine female residents of the remote Wairarapa area that was first hit by the incident on September 2. “I’ve never seen wild boar on the Wairarapa,” she says.

There have been two groups of four or five adult males that have been living in Wairarapa to the north-east of Invercargill. They have been roaming in the areas surrounding Invercargill as they prepare their numbers for when the wild boar are driven out of the island and killed off. This will be what has happened by August or September.

The wild boar attack in Wairarapa is one of the most high profile encounters between the two species in recent years. Wild boar were first spotted in the area a number of years ago and were seen killing livestock and sheep in the area. The animals later moved on to a larger portion of the island and there has been less animal conflict with humans to date. But the recent encounter has highlighted the importance of keeping wild boar off Wairarapa. The men are determined to do so and are going out in every possible way to try and prevent it.

The men took the opportunity to carry out an audit of the number of wild boar in the area and have been encouraged by the results so far. “It was definitely going to look like there were more wild boar than there were,” says Campbell. “It’s a real shame the animals were able get on there because we know they would not have made it through the thick rainforest to be here. “When they came out of the wet bushland you could tell they were large.”

The men say they need to see an increase in the numbers of wild boar to avoid this happening again. They are also seeking ways in which the government could assist in managing the wild boar situation, particularly that of the cattle and the sheep.

There are around 8,000 sheep at the Wairarapa Station and those numbers are expected to double in the coming years as the cattle populations keep on growing. “If it’s more wild boar, more food, and more farmers who can cope with this kind of change then