COMMENT | First the Penan – the people known to the outside world as the Borneo jungle nomads – started to come across dead wild boar in the forest.

Then, rotting carcasses. And now in the jungle, where they have hunted for the pigs for generations, there is no trace, no tracks, no wallows and no smell.

Wild boar is of great ecological, social and conservation importance in Borneo. It is a staple food for the Penan, by far their favourite meat.

Barking deer, mouse deer, birds and fish may be other sources of protein, but wild boar is the most important one.

During Covid-19, isolated by the lockdowns, they first encountered what they thought of as “Wild Boar Covid,” something killing the pigs...