Bukangi shark slips back into Busan canal after third rescue

Key takeaways

• Bukangi, a female dusky shark that has lived in a canal at Busan's North Port for about a month, has slipped back into the waterway hours after South Korean officials said a third rescue had guided her to open sea.
• South Korea's oceans ministry said on Thursday, October 22, that the shark swam under one of the nets and is now held between an outer net and an inner barrier near the canal mouth, according to Reuters.
• Officials opened the outer net and reinforced the inner barriers in the hope that she will leave on her own. No date for a new guided attempt has been announced, AP reported.
• The roughly 3-metre shark has drawn more than 1.6 million visitors to the waterfront, according to the Busan Infrastructure Corporation.

Bukangi shark returns to Busan canal: what happened

The Bukangi shark has swum back into a Busan canal hours after a third rescue guided her to open sea. On October 22, South Korea's oceans ministry said she slipped under a net and is held near the canal mouth, Reuters reported.

According to Korea JoongAng Daily, the Wednesday operation began at about 9:30 a.m. local time (00:30 UTC) at the canal's fifth pedestrian bridge. Rescuers used a pontoon carrying a net about 50 metres wide and 7 metres tall, with professional divers on board, and slowly pushed the shark more than one kilometre toward the sea. By about 5:50 p.m. local time (08:50 UTC) the team had moved her past a silt curtain that had blocked earlier exits. A ministry official told the paper that the aim was to bring her to a point where she could swim out by herself, not to force her out.

AP reported that the shark spent several hours in nearby waters and then passed under the protective net fixed to the floating platform, returning to the canal that night. Reuters, citing the ministry, said she is now held between the outer net and an inner net 30 to 40 metres further into the waterway. AP put the second barrier at about 50 metres inside the entrance.

What officials are doing now

The ministry said officials opened the outer net and reinforced the inner barriers so the shark cannot retreat deeper into the canal, hoping she will move into open water on her own, Reuters reported. Experts consulted by the ministry said no further guidance was needed for now because her condition is stable, and the ministry said monitoring will continue.

Lee Gwang-seok, a ministry official, said the shark was unlikely to swim farther up the canal because of the dense nets and the narrow passage, according to AP. AP also reported that rescuers and inspectors were still discussing how to guide her out and that no timing for another attempt had been set.

What we know and what we don't know yet

What we know

• The National Institute of Fisheries Science identified Bukangi as a female dusky shark about 3 metres (10 feet) long, AP and Reuters reported.
• The IUCN lists the dusky shark as endangered.
• Officials say a return to open water is needed for her health and safety. AP reported there were no clear signs she had been feeding regularly, and that falling water temperatures could add risk.

What we don't know yet

• When, or whether, officials will try a fourth guided attempt.
• The exact distance between the two barriers: Reuters and AP give slightly different figures.
• Why the shark keeps coming back. Experts quoted in coverage point to warm water and plentiful fish, but this has not been confirmed.

Background

The shark's nickname comes from the Korean name for Busan's North Port, Reuters noted. She has become a local celebrity, and the city has adopted her as a mascot. AP reported that hundreds of people lined the canal on Wednesday to watch the operation.

Large sharks are being seen more often off South Korea. The fisheries institute recorded 46 large-shark sightings along the east coast in the first half of 2026, up from 12 in the same period a year earlier, AP reported. Experts cited by AP and Reuters named warming seas as one possible reason. For the bigger picture on ocean warming, see our explainers on the UNEP Emissions Gap report and NASA's Thwaites Glacier sea-level projections. For other news from the Korean peninsula, see North Korea restarting its border broadcasts.

What it means

For now, officials are waiting rather than chasing. With the outer net open and the inner barriers strengthened, the shark has a clear route to the sea and no way back into the narrow canal. Officials hope she will take that route without another stressful herding operation. The ministry says it will keep monitoring her condition. The case also shows how hard it is to move a large, protected marine animal out of a city waterway, and it adds to the evidence that warmer water is changing where sharks appear around Korea.

Sources

• Reuters via Arab News: Shark nicknamed 'Bukangi' foils rescue attempts, returns to South Korean canal (Oct. 22, 2026)
• AP via The Business Standard: South Korean city seeks new plan to rescue shark trapped in canal (Oct. 22, 2026)
• AP via The Tribune: Stranded for a month, Bukangi returns to sea after third rescue attempt (Oct. 21, 2026)
• Korea JoongAng Daily: Celebrity shark Bukangi nears return to sea after 34 days (Oct. 21, 2026)
• Al Jazeera: Shark returns to South Korea canal after failed rescue attempt (Oct. 22, 2026)