Busan Races to Guide a Tourist-Favorite Shark Out of a Canal After It Swims Back In

Officials in the South Korean port city of Busan are searching for a new way to free a large dusky shark from a narrow canal, one day after a rescue effort that appeared to work collapsed when the animal swam straight back in, ABC News reported.

Workers had herded the shark, nicknamed Bukangi, out of the canal on Wednesday after weeks of trial and error. Within hours, it returned. City authorities and the national Oceans and Fisheries Ministry say they remain determined to lead the animal back to open water, calling it critical for its safety and health.

What happened on Wednesday

The operation was unconventional. Dozens of workers steered a floating platform through the canal to push the female shark, which is 3 meters (9.8 feet) long, toward the exit. The shark lingered in nearby waters for hours. That night, it swam beneath an outer barrier net that had been attached to the platform and re-entered the waterway.

According to officials, Bukangi is now trapped between that net and a second net about 50 meters (55 yards) into the mouth of the canal. Inspectors and rescuers on site are debating how to guide the shark out while it circles the small patch of water.

Oceans and Fisheries Ministry official Lee Gwang-seok said the shark was unlikely to get past more barriers and move farther up the canal. He pointed to the density of the nets and to the narrowness of the waterway in that section, which leaves little room for the animal to squeeze through.

Why the shark's stay has become a problem

Bukangi has been in the canal for about a month. It takes its nickname from the Korean name of Busan's North Port, where it was first spotted in mid-September. Officials say there are no signs that it has been feeding regularly during that time, and falling water temperatures could add to the health risks.

Wednesday's effort was the third attempt to free the shark. Earlier attempts on Sept. 29 and Oct. 2 also failed. Those tries used boats spraying streams of water and nets placed across the narrow waterway. Bukangi avoided the boats and swam over the nets.

Why it matters

For the shark itself, the stakes are physical. Officials describe a return to open water as essential to its safety and health, and they point to the lack of regular feeding and the colder water as reasons the situation cannot drag on.

For Busan, the animal has also become a public attraction. City officials, who made Bukangi a mascot, say the shark has drawn more than 1.7 million visitors to the canal. Hundreds of people lined up along the canal on Wednesday to watch the rescue effort. That level of attention means each attempt plays out in front of a crowd, and the outcome is closely watched locally.

The repeated failures also show how hard it is to steer a wild animal of this size through a confined channel. The shark has so far avoided boats, swum over nets and, most recently, swum under a net, which is why officials are rethinking their approach rather than repeating earlier methods.

What happens next

Busan authorities did not immediately say when a new rescue effort would go ahead. For now, the shark remains in the short stretch of water between the two nets while officials and rescuers weigh their options for guiding it back out of the canal.

Around Prague, based on reporting by ABC News