Seoul, South KoreaAP —
A two-year-old wolf that escaped from a South Korean zoo was successfully captured Friday after a nine-day search, sparking national attention as the country’s internet erupted with congratulations.
The male wolf, named Nukugu, burrowed out of his enclosure at Ota’s Oworld Zoo on April 8, shocking the nation, sparking a search and raising concerns for his safety. Animal rights activists questioned whether the wolf could survive outside the zoo and feared it would be killed in captivity, like a mountain lion that escaped from the same zoo in 2018.
Following strong public concerns, President Lee Jae-myung issued a statement reassuring the public that police, fire officials, and the military are doing everything in their power to capture the wolf alive.
Authorities found Nuku on a mountain near the zoo earlier this week and at one point nearly captured him, but Nuku escaped through a perimeter set up by rescue workers. A driver also spotted the wolf and shared a video of it scuttling down a dark mountain road, illuminated by the headlights of a car following him.
After an hours-long search that included drones, police, paramedics and veterinarians, Nuku was finally found and tranquilized in a hill near a highway early Friday morning, city and zoo officials said.
After being brought back to the zoo, his condition was stable after veterinarians used a scope to remove the fishing hook from his stomach, but no other major health issues were found.
Daejeon city authorities posted a video on social media showing rescue workers pulling the limp wolf out of a ditch, placing it in a carrying case and undergoing a health check at the zoo.
Social media was flooded with congratulatory posts such as “Welcome home” and “Nuku, it’s dangerous outside the house.” In a post on Facebook, Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo expressed his deep gratitude to the citizens of Daejeon and the entire nation for their support for Nuk’s safe return.
Born at the zoo in 2024, Nuku is a third-generation descendant of a group of wolves brought from Russia in 2008 as part of a project to reintroduce wolves similar to those that lived in the wild in South Korea before becoming extinct in the 1960s.
OWorld director Lee Kwang-jung said Nuk will be kept in an isolated area from other animals and cared for until he fully recovers and stabilizes.
Management at the zoo, which has been criticized for a series of animal escapes, closed the facility after Nuku’s escape, but said it had not decided when it would reopen.
Lee Kwang-jeong said the zoo is reviewing its safety measures and will prioritize Nuk’s recovery.
He is expected to be the center of attention once the zoo reopens.
