Fin Torn, Head Banging Against the Wall... Bukangi Given a Prognosis of Just “Two Weeks to Live”

[Financial News] Concerns are mounting that the health of a heuksangeo shark about 3 meters long, commonly known as “Bukangi,” which has been trapped for more than a month in an artificial waterway at Busan North Port Waterfront Park, is rapidly deteriorating. It has not been confirmed feeding for a month, raising fears of exhaustion, and observers have also recorded repeated signs of abnormal behavior, including forcefully banging its head against the waterway wall, as well as fin injuries. Some experts have even warned that “its survival time could be as little as two weeks.”
According to marine authorities and tips from citizens, Bukangi was seen banging its head hard against the concrete outer wall of the artificial waterway on the morning of the 19th. The previous day, footage recorded by citizens also captured its right pectoral fin tip turned white and torn.
Experts view this abnormal behavior as “a red flag for declining physical function” caused by prolonged isolation and nutritional deficiency.
Choi Yoon, a shark expert and emeritus professor in the Department of Marine Biology and Aquatic Resources at Kunsan National University, said, “It is highly likely that its strength has declined rapidly, dulling its senses and sense of balance and causing it to collide forcefully with the outer wall.” He added, “Even if a heuksangeo can go without food for as long as one to two months, Bukangi appears to be in a critical state, with nearly all its energy reserves depleted.” He warned, “With autumn setting in and water temperatures also falling rapidly, its survival time in its current condition could be as little as about two weeks.”

The National Institute of Fisheries Science, which is monitoring Bukangi’s condition, has not recorded any confirmed feeding since it entered the waterway.
Physical injuries are also becoming increasingly apparent. The National Institute of Fisheries Science believes that Bukangi injured its snout and pectoral fins when they rubbed against sharp marine growths attached to the wall, such as barnacles and oyster shells, as it swam close to the narrow waterway walls. No bleeding has been found, and the injuries are not considered an immediate threat to its life, the institute said. However, the possibility that the wounds could worsen or become infected while it is exhausted cannot be ruled out.
Signs of extreme stress have also been detected, including Bukangi thrashing when startled by citizens’ bright lights, such as camera flashes at night, and moving away from the area near the International Passenger Terminal, where it had previously been most active, toward Jungang-dong.

Bukangi was first discovered in the artificial waterway on the 18th of last month. After a heuksangeo—a fish species that inhabits relatively warm seas in temperate and tropical regions—became trapped in the shallow urban waterway, authorities made two attempts to guide it out to open water. Both failed: the first, on the 29th of last month, using boats and water-spraying equipment, and the second, on the 2nd of this month, using large nets.
Authorities have continued monitoring the shark, taking its stress and the possibility of its escaping naturally into account. But with its food supply depleted, water temperatures falling and injuries mounting, concerns are being raised that the “golden time” for a rescue is effectively running out.
Relevant agencies, including the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the National Institute of Fisheries Science, Busan City and the Korea Coast Guard, plan to conduct a detailed assessment of Bukangi’s health and then finalize and announce plans for an additional capture and release into open water, as early as this week.


[email protected] Moon Young-jin Reporter