This particular escapee goes by the name of Ggoma, which I'm told means "Little Child". It was amusing to read titles of some online reports such as “Bear escapes from South Korean zoo and scales mountain”. It was if it decided to take a break from entertaining Seoulites, stroll through its enclosure door during a routine cleanup to go munro-bagging ( Scottish label for mountain-climbing). Anyway, if you were planning a weekend hike any time soon, strike Cheonggye-san off your list. Apparently 6-year-old, 1.2-meter and 30-kilo Ggoma was last spotted on the peak which is located about 6 kilometers away from the zoo.
So far, he’s managed to elude a helicopter, five armed hunters, between 120 and 200 policemen and zoo staffers sent out on the bear-hunt and now they’re even resorting to setting up a specially designed bear trap. Just in case you happen upon a black-haired bear with distinctive orange-yellow horse-shoe markings on its chest ( see pic), you may want to remember the following bits of advice:
Though the sun bear is smaller and less aggressive than other bear species, you should:
1. avoid eye-contact
2. NOT provoke it
3. NOT startle it by running away hysterically
Apparently Ggoma’s not the first sun bear to give Korean officials the slip. According to one website, another bear had escaped from a bear bile farm in Whacheun, Wonju district in September, 2007. The female hybrid which was nicknamed “Miracle” caused a bit of stir as people couldn’t decide where to put it if it was recaptured. As far as I know, it still hasn’t been caught but what’s more controversial and shocking is that one source reports there are 1600 bears on bear bile farms in Korea. They are bred to produce Ursodeoxycholic acid ( or UDCA ) used in various treatments for health problems. Criticism of these farms include the existence of alternatives to UDCA, inhumane methods of extracting the bile and little regulation on these farms.
Some other interesting info on the sun bear:
It doesn’t hibernate so you can imagine it won’t be too thrilled with the winter chills
It eats small lizards and birds but its diet also includes fruits, berries, roots and nuts. It forages for food by using its excellent sense of smell as it doesn’t have very good eyesight.
It tends to look for food at night and sleep during the day on lower branches of trees.
It has been classified as a “vulnerable” specie.
Hopefully, Ggoma will be found and returned safe and sound to enjoy a warmer home with ample meals soon. The Seoul Zoo may not be home but it's a lot better than wandering around the snowy landscape of the Korean landscape. BTW, what are the chances of it reaching the DMZ?
sources:
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2929509
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/12/07/2010120700873.html
http://www.worldzootoday.com/2010/12/07/bear-escapes-from-seoul-zoo/
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/849529-bear-escapes-from-south-korean-zoo-and-scales-mountain
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/12/117_77558.html
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2929309
http://www.animalrescuekorea.org/forums/showthread.php?t=2234
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Bear
