According to the Wildlife Management Association’s Seoul branch head Lee Seung-yong, who collected the boar’s blood and buried the carcass, the animal -- weighing around 60 kilograms -- was a relatively young male.

The blood test conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s health and environment research institute was negative for the contagious swine fever, easing concerns of another breakout of the virus following the last one on Saturday. South Korea has seen an outbreak of 34 cases -- 14 cases of farm pigs and 20 of wild boars -- of the highly contagious and deadly disease nationwide since mid-September.

“The wild boars are coming down to the urban area in search for food,” said Lee. “The weather is getting colder and their breeding season starts around December, so the boars will likely be spotted until the end of November.”


By Choi Ji-won (jwc@heraldcorp.com)