Photo: Neukgu spotted in the wild. Credit: Kyunghyang Shinmun.
On April 8, a two-year-old male wolf named Neukgu 늑구 escaped from O-World 오월드, a zoo and theme park in Daejeon 대전. The zoo had to evacuate after the renegade wolf, who dug his way out under a fence, could not be immediately located. It took ten days and more than 110 policemen equipped with drones to track Neukgu down and capture him with a tranquilizer dart. He was returned to the zoo safe and sound, other than a small fishing hook found in his stomach that was surgically removed.
Neukgu became a sensation over his ten days as a fugitive, with internet users posting AI-generated images of places a freedom-seeking wolf might go. Neukgu-themed cookies from local bakeries sold out instantly. Afterwards, in the same week Neukgu was returned to the zoo, both Daejeon’s baseball and soccer teams - the Eagles and Citizen FC, respectively - broke their losing streaks, further endearing the wolf to the city.
