Watch A Fast-Thinking Snowboarder Use His Board To Expel A Charging Wild Boar

Snowboarding provides winter sports adventurers with quite a thrill, but a little extra adrenaline was pumping this day in Myoko, Japan when a wild boar appeared out of seemingly nowhere to attack two unsuspecting snowboarders. Scroll to the bottom of the page to watch this unusual encounter.

Wild Boar Wants Part of the Snowboarding Action

What Is Normal Wild Boar Behavior?

Wild boars, like humans, are social creatures. Typically, they live alongside other wild boars in groups called sounders. Each sounder is comprised of females and their young, with an old matriarch leading the group. The males are more solitary unless it’s time to mate. After they reach eight to 15 months of age, they move on from the sounder to explore life on their own. Wild boars display aggression, even toward one another.

Do Wild Boars Attack Humans?

Wild boars are unpredictable and have often shown aggression toward humans. Whether they have been farmers, hikers, or apparently snowboarders, wild boars have gone after them without hesitation. This is especially the case in environments where the wild boar has found food sources (like human trash). If they’re not in a situation that feels like an opportunity or a threat, however, they may overlook humans or simply retreat from them. When they do attack, they go for the legs to try and knock the threat over.

Boar Vs. Board

The clip below was shared on ABC7 news. When the clip starts, a man has his left foot snapped into his snowboard as he stands with his back toward a charging wild boar. He’s looking out behind the camera, likely assessing his route. The cameraman manages to yell out a warning to let the man know he’s about to be attacked. The video cuts for a second and the next scene shows the snowboarder on the ground in a sitting position with the wild boar at his feet. The man is using his hands behind him to steady himself as he fights the boar off, kicking his snowboard against its head. He tries scooching backward with each kick, but the boar remains persistent for a few moments.

It soon loses interest in the man it’s already taken down and starts charging toward another snowboarder. The other snowboarder takes a different approach and picks his snowboard up off the ground, using it both as a shield and a weapon. He swings it to smack the boar on the head just as the boar charges his legs. Both of them take the brunt of the impact. Amazingly, the snowboarder manages to stay standing before launching the snowboard at the boar again. The boar retreats down a hill just as the clip ends.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © iStock.com/Jevtic