Search teams began a second day of searching for Neukgu, the wolf that escaped from Daejeon O-World, after authorities in the Cheongju area reported a sighting.
According to police, at 6:50 p.m. on the 9th they received a report that someone had seen a wolf at about 10 a.m. that morning in Simok-ri, Hyeondo-myeon, wandering before climbing a nearby mountain.
The caller told police they made the report after seeing the news later in the day.
The location is roughly 23 km (about 14.3 miles) as the crow flies from Daejeon O-World. Police and fire officials deployed drones to search the area but found no sign of Neukgu; they ended the search at 8:16 p.m.
Neukgu is a two-year-old male wolf, hand-reared in January 2024, weighing about 30 kg (approximately 66.1 lb). At around 9:18 a.m. on the 8th, he dug through the floor of the O-World safari enclosure and slipped under the fence to escape. Some 30 hours after the escape, his whereabouts remain unknown.
Experts consider the first 48 hours — while a wolf’s homing instinct remains strongest — the “golden” window. Immediately after an escape, a wolf typically stays within a relatively confined area; as time passes, its wild instincts can drive it to travel tens of kilometers per day, making tracking far more difficult.
Search teams believe Neukgu may still be staying near O-World following that homing instinct. They have concentrated resources — tranquilizer guns, capture nets, thermal cameras and drones — and are broadcasting recordings of howls from the wolves that lived with Neukgu to try to lure him back.
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