Authorities Deploy Drones and Military After Wolf Escapes Zoo in South Korea
A wolf is on the loose in South Korea, and more than 300 people are looking for it.
Authorities in the city of Daejeon are conducting a large-scale search after a wolf escaped from O-World Theme Park, triggering a multi-agency response that has closed schools and mobilized firefighters, police officers and military personnel.
The missing animal is a male wolf named Neukgu, born in 2024 and weighing approximately 30 kg — about 65 pounds. It went missing on Wednesday after zoo staff discovered the wolf was no longer in its enclosure during a routine inspection.
How Did the Wolf Escape?
According to The Korea Times, zookeepers found the wolf missing during a morning check and later reviewed CCTV footage showing it had dug under the enclosure to escape.
An O-World official explained what surveillance cameras revealed.
“We conduct daily inspections of each enclosure before opening, and one wolf was missing. After checking CCTV, we confirmed it had dug through the soil at the bottom of the enclosure and escaped,” the official said.
The discovery prompted immediate action across the city.
Schools Closed, Drones Deployed
A spokesperson for the Daejeon metropolitan office of education confirmed that a nearby school was shut down as a safety precaution while the search was underway.
“Daejeon Sanseong elementary school is closed today following the escape of a wolf from a zoo yesterday,” the spokesperson told AFP.
According to officials from the Daejeon fire headquarters, more than 300 people — including firefighters, police officers and military personnel — have been deployed to locate the animal.
Authorities also deployed drones equipped with cameras and heat-detecting technology to assist in the search. However, some operations were temporarily halted due to rain, complicating efforts to track the wolf.
Officials reported receiving more than 100 tips about possible sightings of the wolf. Many of those reports, however, were later determined to be incorrect or based on false information.
As of the latest updates, there were no confirmed sightings indicating the wolf had been recaptured. Authorities continue to search for the animal.
Who Is Neukgu?
The escaped wolf, Neukgu, is part of a captive breeding program at O-World. Wolves are no longer found in the wild in South Korea after being declared extinct in the country in the 1990s due to historical hunting.
Zoos such as O-World maintain breeding programs with the long-term goal of species conservation and potential reintroduction into natural habitats. Neukgu’s escape has raised questions about enclosure safety at facilities housing these animals.
Not the First Zoo Escape in South Korea
This is not the first time an animal has broken free from a zoo in South Korea. In 2023, a zebra that escaped from a Seoul zoo gained widespread attention after roaming city streets before being safely recaptured without injury.
That incident drew national interest, and the wolf’s escape appears to be generating a similar level of public concern — this time with the added urgency of a predator on the loose rather than a herbivore.
For now, residents in the Daejeon area are being urged to stay alert. The search involving hundreds of emergency personnel, military members and law enforcement continues as authorities work to safely locate and recover the young wolf before it can travel farther from the zoo.
The situation remains ongoing, with no resolution as of the latest reports.
This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI.
