Firefighters hold a search coordination meeting at O-World, a theme park, in Daejeon on the morning of April 9, the second day after a wolf escaped from the park. [YONHAP]
The search for a wolf that escaped from its pen at Daejeon’s O-World theme park has entered its second day, it said Thursday.
At 8 a.m., police SWAT teams, military personnel and firefighters resumed search operations in the wooded hills behind O-World, using equipment including drones with thermal imaging cameras and search dogs.
A total of 400 personnel, including 120 police SWAT team members, have been mobilized.
Authorities also conducted overnight search-and-capture operations
using drones and other equipment the previous day, but temporarily suspended the search at around 2:30 a.m. Thursday due to safety concerns.
A firefighter uses a drone to search for the escaped wolf at O-World in Daejeon on the morning of April 9, the second day after the animal escaped. [YONHAP]
Firefighters use a drone to search for the escaped wolf at O-World in Daejeon on the morning of April 9, the second day after the animal escaped. [YONHAP]
“The wolf has stayed in the hills behind O-World, and movements toward the zoo have been detected,” said an official from the Daejeon City Corporation, which manages O-World. “However, its exact location has not been determined.”
Authorities plan to use the wolf’s homing instinct, an animal's natural ability to return to a familiar location, and the drive-hunting method, a technique in which animals are guided or herded in a specific direction, to bring it back to its enclosure in the park’s safari area.
However, with rain forecast throughout the day, searches using tracking dogs are expected to be difficult.
Authorities aim to capture the wolf alive using tranquilizer guns, but given that its range of movement can reach up to 100 kilometers (62 miles), they are also considering lethal measures if public safety is threatened.
Firefighters use a drone to search for the escaped wolf at O-World in Daejeon on the morning of April 9, the second day after the animal escaped. [YONHAP]
The golden time for the wolf’s return is reportedly 48 hours.
The wolf escaped from its compound at O-World’s zoo in Jung District, Daejeon, at around 9:15 a.m. Wednesday. The theme park includes both amusement rides and a zoo.
O-World immediately evacuated all visitors and blocked further entry. Notices that the park's operations would be suspended on Wednesday and Thursday were posted on its website, and normal operations will resume as soon as the park is safe, it said.
Fire authorities search for the escaped wolf at O-World in Daejeon on April 8. [DAEJEON FIRE HEADQUARTERS]
Firefighters search for the escaped wolf at O-World in Daejeon. [JOONGANG ILBO]
A notice announcing an emergency suspension of operations is posted on the website of Daejeon’s O-World, after a wolf escaped from its zoo on April 8. [SCREEN CAPTURE]
The ticket office at Daejeon’s O-World, where a wolf escaped, is closed on April 8. [YONHAP]
The closed O-World after a wolf escaped from its zoo on April 8 [JOONGANG ILBO]
The animal is a two-year-old male, born in 2024, similar in size to a fully grown dog, and weighs about 30 kilograms (66 pounds).
The wolf was spotted twice during daytime on Wednesday. It was later detected at night in the hills behind the zoo via thermal imaging cameras, and at around 10:30 p.m., it was also seen near the zoo’s fence.
At around 6:39 p.m. the previous day, Daejeon officials sent out an emergency alert warning residents not to walk pets near Mount Bomun, saying that the wolf "may show aggression toward animals such as dogs.” The alert also urged residents to “return home immediately or evacuate indoors if they spot the wolf and to report it by calling 119.”
A wolf that escaped from a theme park roams the streets of Daejeon on April 8. [DAEJEON FIRE HEADQUARTERS]
A wolf wanders in urban areas of Daejeon on April 8. [DAEJEON FIRE HEADQUARTERS]
In addition, the Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education ordered Sanseong Elementary School, located near O-World, to close on Thursday. Nearby schools were also advised on precautions in case the wolf appears.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
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