While hanging up laundry to dry on her balcony, a 52-year-old woman surnamed Liu was attacked at home in broad daylight by a wild boar. The animal used its protruding tusks to fatally stab her in what would become a tragic death. Liu, who lived in the Guangxing Mountain area of New Taipei City’s Xindian District, was hanging up laundry on her balcony recently when a large boar, weighing more than 100 jin (60kg), rushed onto her balcony from the hillside. Only 152cm tall, Liu was stricken by panic and picked up a broom to drive away the boar, which unexpectedly became quite perturbed and rammed into her side, using its long tusks (approximately 10cm long) to stab her, making lacerations so deep that bone was visible. After receiving treatment for three days at the hospital, they were still unable to save her life. Authorities from the fire station say that a garden on a hillside plot of land is located above where the incident occurred, and they believe the boar charged into Liu’s home looking for food.
A woman surnamed Chen who lives above Liu said that at the time of the attack she heard bloodcurdling screams coming from Liu and poked her head out to look, which was when she saw a boar running away along the sewer. Chen could clearly see blood on the boar’s tusks and says that it was quite big — approximately 1.5m long, weighing 100 jin and with tusks 10cm long. Formosan wild boars and macaques are often seen in the area around Guangxing Mountain, she says, adding that people are accustomed to seeing them, but this is the first time a wild boar has ever attacked a human.
According to the police investigation, Liu lives on the second floor of a five-story apartment building on Guangxing Rd. Since the apartment was in close proximity to a mountainous area, Liu’s balcony can be accessed from a nearby hillside. At 9am on Oct. 27, Liu was hanging up her son’s clothes to dry on the balcony when the boar charged at her. Suddenly panicking, Liu took a broom to drive away the boar, which then felt threatened and rammed into her after going berserk. Lying on the ground, the boar continued attacking Liu by stabbing her with its tusks. A neighbor looked in after hearing Liu screaming in agonizing pain, and saw her lying on the balcony with a broom next to her hand and blood flowing from her waist and legs. The neighbor immediately called the emergency hotline 119.
Photo: Chiu Shao-wen, Liberty Times.
照片：自由時報記者邱紹雯
Last week was Liu’s first seven days of the traditional mourning period (touqi). Her son said that in the more than 20 years they have lived in the house no one had ever been attacked by a wild boar in the area. The son asks whether there was some particular reason why the boar suddenly attacked his mother this time. The relevant authorities should conduct a thorough investigation to ensure the safety of residents living in the Guangxing Mountain area, he says, adding, “I hope my mom is the last one.”
Aetas Animal Hospital president Chen Chih-wei says that using a broom to drive off a wild boar will definitely make it angry to the point that it would attack you. Taipei Zoo spokesman Chao Ming-chieh says that the breeding season for wild boars is between November and January, adding that during this time the animals can be a bit temperamental and could possibly attack humans. Wild boar’s are quite strong when it comes to ramming things, easily making a 125cc scooter fly in the air by colliding with it, so you should stay as far from wild boars as possible, Chao says.
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
新北市五十二歲劉姓婦人大白天在住家陽台曬衣，竟遭抓狂的山豬用獠牙刺死。慘死於獠牙之下的劉姓婦人，家住新北市新店廣興山區，日前她在自家陽台曬衣服，一隻上百台斤重的大山豬，沿著山坡闖進陽台，身高僅一百五十二公分的劉婦緊張地拿掃帚驅趕，沒想到山豬凶性大發，猛撞劉婦腰部等，約十公分長的獠牙連續刺入，造成劉婦嚴重撕裂傷，深可見骨，送醫救治三天仍不治。消防人員說，案發現場上方坡地有菜園，研判山豬因覓食而闖進劉婦家。
Photo: Lo Hsin-chen, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者羅欣貞
住在劉婦家樓上的陳姓女子說，事發當時，她聽到劉婦慘叫，探頭察看，山豬正從山邊排水溝逃跑，她清楚看見獠牙上有血跡，並強調牠「很大隻」，體長約一點五公尺，體重上百台斤，外露的獠牙約十公分長，她說，當地廣興山區時見野猴、山豬出沒，住戶見怪不怪，發生山豬殺人卻是頭一遭。
警方追查，劉婦住在新店廣興路一處五樓公寓的二樓，因建物貼山興建，山坡可直通她家陽台；上月二十七日上午九時，劉婦在陽台幫兒子曬衣服，山豬沿著山坡闖進陽台，劉婦一時緊張拿掃帚驅趕，受到威脅的山豬，竟抓狂狠撞她，劉婦倒地後仍遭持續攻擊，獠牙連續穿刺，痛得大叫，樓上鄰居聞聲查探，只見劉婦倒臥陽台，手邊有一支掃帚，腰、腿鮮血直流，急電一一九。
上週是劉婦頭七，兒子說在當地住了二十多年，從無山豬攻擊人的事，這次為何突然攻擊他的母親，是否有特殊原因？為了廣興山區住戶安全，相關單位應查明，「希望我母親是最後一個！」
愛達司動物醫院院長陳稚文表示，若有持掃帚驅趕，確實會觸怒山豬而遭攻擊；台北市立動物園發言人趙明杰表示，山豬發情期在十一月至隔年一月，期間性情不穩定，有可能攻擊人類，且山豬衝撞力強，能輕易將一百二十五cc的機車撞飛，遇到山豬要儘可能遠離。
（自由時報記者徐聖倫）
A: Yet another shopping mall has just opened in Taipei. B: Do you mean the Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport Nangang? A: Yeah, the shopping mall run by Japanese Mitsui & Co. opened last week. B: I hear the mall features about 300 stores, Vieshow Cinemas and Japanese Lopia supermarket. A: With the opening, a war is breaking out between Taipei’s department stores. A: 台北又有新的購物商場可逛啦。 B: 你是說Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport 南港？ A: 對啊這家日本三井集團旗下的商場上週開幕。 B: 聽說商場有威秀影城、樂比亞日系超市，還有多達300家專櫃。 A: 新商場一開幕，看來又要掀起一場百貨大戰啦！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
A: Hey, didn’t you go to the opening of the Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport Nangang last week? B: Yeah, there are about 300 shops, including the first overseas branch of Japan’s Mahou Dokoro — a famous Harry Potter-themed store. A: Wow, I’ve always wanted to get a magic wand. B: There are also a bunch of great restaurants, such as Smart Fish hotpot restaurant. A: I wish I had Harry Potter’s “apparition” and “disapparition” magic, so I could teleport to the mall right now. A: 你上週不是有去LaLaport南港的盛大開幕嗎？有什麼特別的？ B: 那裡有多達300家專櫃，包括魔法之地的海外首店——它可是日本知名的《哈利波特》專賣店。 A: 哇我一直想買根魔杖。 B: 另外還有各式各樣的美食，像是林聰明沙鍋魚頭。 A: 真希望我也有哈利波特的「現影術／消影術」魔法，能瞬間移動到商場去！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
When it comes to movies, some people delight in watching spine-chilling horror films. Surprisingly, apart from containing a few scares, horror movies may also offer an unexpected __1__. According to a study, watching 90 minutes of a scary movie can burn an average of 113 calories, which is roughly __2__ to taking a 30-minute walk. Researchers from the University of Westminster carried out an experiment in which they __3__ participants’ oxygen intake, carbon dioxide output, and heart rates while they were watching horror movies without any distractions. The results revealed that physiological responses to fear play a crucial role
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