Three Mandarin Ducks, Natural Monuments Rescued Last Year, Return 'Safely' to Mudeungsan

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] Three mandarin ducks, natural monuments found and rescued by citizens while lost, have safely returned to the embrace of nature.

The Wildlife Rescue Management Center of Gwangju Metropolitan City Health and Environment Research Institute announced on the 13th that three mandarin ducks (Natural Monument No. 327), which lost their mother and were found and rescued by citizens in a lost state last June, returned to the foothills of Mudeungsan on the 11th.

The mandarin duck has been designated and protected as Natural Monument No. 327 since 1982 and is a protected species in Korea.

The mandarin ducks that returned to nature this time are three males boasting splendid feathers.

They were rescued last year as young ducklings in a residential area of Yongbong-dong, Buk-gu. Thanks to the care of the city’s Wildlife Rescue Management Center, they grew up healthy and were able to return to nature at the right time.

Since its opening in 2019, the city’s Wildlife Rescue Management Center has rescued and treated 1,307 wild animals of 113 species injured over three years and released 423 back into nature.

Among the rescued animals were 179 individuals of 20 species of natural monuments and endangered species, including otters, flying squirrels, Blakiston's fish owls, and leopard cats.

Detailed information about wildlife rescue and treatment can be found on the city’s official website.

Kim Jeongnam, director of the city’s Animal Hygiene Testing Laboratory, said, “I hope all the animals that have returned to nature live healthily,” and added, “We will strive to return as many precious wild animals to nature as possible.”