SEOUL, April 11 (AJP) - Authorities in the central city of Daejeon have deployed drones and specialized tracking teams on Saturday to locate an escaped wolf that fled a zoo safari as the search enters its fourth day without a confirmed sighting.
The two-year-old male wolf was last detected by a thermal imaging camera at 1:30 a.m. on Thursday, but it has since vanished into the rugged terrain surrounding the facility. Recent heavy rainfall and deteriorating weather conditions hindered initial aerial efforts, leading officials to believe the wolf may be taking cover in burrows or dense brush that obscured its heat signature from recovery teams.
The search operation involves approximately 90 personnel and 10 drones focused on the mountainous areas of the Jung District. To prevent the animal from fleeing further into inhabited zones, ground teams have been minimized in favor of high-altitude surveillance. Officials expect that as temperatures drop after sunset, the wolf’s body heat will provide a sharper contrast against the cooling ground, allowing thermal sensors to pinpoint its exact location. Once spotted, the strategy will shift from observation to containment, with experts planning to herd the animal toward a designated capture zone without causing undue stress that could provoke a flight response.
The prolonged disappearance has placed local authorities on high alert, as the window for a controlled recovery narrows. City officials emphasized that night operations remain the most viable path to a resolution, given the increased visibility of moving targets under infrared light. A spokesperson for the city of Daejeon stated, "It is much easier to find moving individuals by checking with drones equipped with thermal imaging cameras at night than during the day. It is important to find the wolf quickly by focusing on night searches from tonight until dawn."
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