Separated ‘Pet’ Wild Boar Returns To Owner’s Lap In Odisha’s Keonjhar; Know Their Story

Keonjhar: It was a happy ending after initial grief as the wild boar piglet raised by a woman in Odisha’s Keonjhar district returned to her lap on Wednesday.

According to sources, Kuntala Kumari Penthei, a woman of Purushottampur village under Telkoi block, had been nurturing a wild boar for the last 10 months. She found the piglet roaming alone in the nearby forest and brough it home. She named her ‘Dhuda’.

When forest officials came to know about this, they went to her house on March 9. They took away the wild boar from her and released it into the wild far away from her house.

Unable to bear the separation, Kuntala desperately searched for her pet inside the forest with food by calling out its name.

Also Read: Odisha’s Tribal Woman Laments Being Separated From Her ‘Pet’ Wild Boar

On being informed by some fellow villagers about the movement of a wild boar in the nearby area, Kuntala and her daughter on Wednesday went inside the forest and found her pet. As soon as she called out its name, the piglet came running to her.

After feeding the pet, she brought her back home again.

Asked about the incident, wildlife expert Lala AK Singh said as the wild boars are protected under Schedule III of the Wildlife Protection Act and it is illegal to keep them as pets.

Since the Wildlife Protection Act is meant for the protection of wild animals, the Forest Department should take note of the bond that they share and allow them to live happily, he added.