The Daejeon CityAuthorities had nearly caught him earlier this week, when the local fire department received a report on Monday night that Neukgu had been spotted on a mountain about 2km (1.2 miles) away from O-World, the zoo and theme park from which he had broken loose.A video of the wolf scampering on a road in the dark, illuminated by the headlights of a vehicle, was also uploaded on social media.Authorities pounced on the lead, launching a search-and-rescue mission, but ultimately he escaped again.The elusive Neukgu has inspired a meme coin, hailed by its creators as a the “wolf that wouldn’t stay caged” and a “symbol of independence”.YONHAP/EPA/ShutterstockBorn in 2024, Neukgu is part of a programme at O-World to restore the Korean wolf, which once roamed the Korean Peninsula but is now considered extinct in the wild.But after a life in captivity, some worried that he wouldn’t be able to survive in the wild.Animal rights groups were also concerned that Neukgu would be killed during the capture process – something that happened to Porongi, a puma that had escaped from the same zoo in 2018.Even South Korea’s president Lee Jae Myung publicly prayed for Neukgu’s safe return home, in a post on social media.Daejeon CityThose fears have been put to rest now that Neukgu has been safely caught. After He They Later A The Thank South What
