Daejeon’s Escaped Wolf: 10-Hour Search with Night Vision Technology and Tranquilizers

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On the morning of the 8th, a male wolf escaped from the safari at Daejeon O-World zoo and remained at large for nearly 10 hours. As dusk fell, police and fire authorities began a nighttime search.

Police, fire officials and licensed hunters formed teams to search the nearby woods where the wolf was believed to be hiding. The fire department said it would deploy thermal cameras and search dogs during the nighttime operation.

Although hunters are accompanying the teams, officials said their priority is to capture the wolf alive using tranquilizer darts rather than to shoot it. They plan to use the minimum number of personnel to avoid startling the animal and will carry out a drive-style search intended to coax the escaped wolf back into the safari using its homing instinct.

To lure the male, authorities also secured a female wolf in a designated area of the zoo. Other teams on standby will block exit routes to prevent the animal from fleeing toward the outskirts.

Animal experts say the \”golden window\” to return an escaped wolf to the safari is 24 to 48 hours. Given that a wolf’s roaming range can extend up to 100 km, authorities have discussed the possible use of firearms if public safety is at risk.

Search teams expect the nocturnal animal to become more active after sunset; as temperatures fall, the wolf’s warmer body should register clearly on thermal imaging.

About 240 personnel — including police mobile units, a special task force, military personnel and firefighters — were mobilized for the daytime search.