Wild boar spotted at Burlington golf club
A wild boar was spotted last Thursday evening (Nov. 18) at the Burlington Springs Golf and Country Club.
The owner, Brad Bunkowsky, says that the boar didn't bother anyone and moved on.
It was spotted on Bunkowsky's own property near the club where it ate some grass, and then he left and ran towards our golf course."
My staff had quite a look at it. When it finally got to the golf course, I sent them a picture and they came over and had a look and they did see him in the bush. They didn't get too close or anything like that."
Apparently, they're fairly aggressive in regard to trying to get grubs out of the ground, he said. We're really worried about them getting on our greens."
Bunkowsky's staff reported the animal to the proper authorities. Commentators on iNaturalist, an animal tracking site, believe the animal spotted at the golf course in Burlington is a Sus Scrofa, also known as a Eurasian Wild Pig, which is not native to Canada.
They are an invasive species that were introduced to this country in the 1980s as a source of meat. These animals are known for damaging crops, spreading diseases such as African Swine Fever and generally aggressive behaviour towards humans and other animals.
The Province of Ontario's Strategy to Address the Threat of Invasive Wild Pigs calls the problem of wild boars an ecological trainwreck."
Bunkowsky says that his golf course sees a whole host of animals wander onto the field. These can include anything from deer and foxes to turtles. But boars are not in any way a common sight, according to him.
I've lived up here for 50 years and I've never seen one," he said. There's not much we can do [about boars]. We just advise our staff to stay away from it."
The Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry asks the public to call 1-833-933-2355 or to email wildpigs@ontario.ca to report sightings of any boars.
Residents should include specific information like date and time of sighting, detailed location, pictures or video, number of pigs and piglets among other information.
Just a few days before the incident, a sounder of wild pigs was seen near Pickering and have been on the run ever since.