Bukang Returns After 5 Hours... "Additional Herding Suspended"

[Anchor]

Yesterday (October 21), when Bukang headed out beyond the waterway, we thought it would be our final farewell, but it returned just five hours later. Authorities have decided not to force it out and will instead monitor it until it leaves on its own.

Reporter Kim su-yun has the details.

[Reporter]

Bukang left the waterway at 6:00 p.m. yesterday after more than 10 hours of a third operation to herd it toward the open sea.

However, at around 11:00 p.m., it broke through the barrier net and returned.

Authorities believe that Bukang, reacting sensitively to engine noise from nearby vessels, squeezed through the gap between the net and the seabed.

[Kim Hyun-woo / Senior Researcher, National Institute of Fisheries Science: Underwater noise from vessel navigation, strong lights, and external stimuli may have disrupted the individual's sensory organs.]

Citizens are simply delighted to see Bukang back.

[Hwang Jong-hyun / Seobuk-gu, Cheonan-si, South Chungcheong Province: There is such a thing as a homing instinct. I hope it stays around a bit longer so more people can see it.]

However, experts note that it cannot stay indefinitely, given the dropping water temperatures, inactive feeding, and recurring wounds.

[Choi Yoon / Professor Emeritus, Department of Marine Biology, Kunsan National University: The wounds appear to have been caused by a hungry Bukang repeatedly scraping the bottom to search for prey...]

Authorities considered attempting another open-sea herding operation today, but have instead shifted to a monitoring system to observe its condition.

They concluded that rather than forcing it out, it is better to give it time to adapt to the changed environment and recover its stamina.

Bukang has mostly been spotted around the entrance of the waterway, but its activity range has now expanded to the waters near Pier 1 of Busan Port outside.

[Kim Hyun-sung / Director of Ecological Resources Division, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries: Its diving times are increasing and the depths are getting deeper. We judged that further open-sea herding could cause unnecessary stress and make adaptation difficult...]

Authorities plan to reinforce the barrier nets and monitor Bukang's condition.

(Video by: Jung Kyoung-mun | Video editing by: Jung Yong-hwa)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.