Goryeong-gun Escaped Male Lion Shot Dead... Neighbor "Did Not Know They Were Raising a Lion"

Shot Dead About 1 Hour After Escape
"Suspected Unreported Illegal Breeding"

In Goryeong-gun, Gyeongbuk Province, a female lion escaped from a private ranch but was shot dead after about an hour.

On the morning of the 14th, a female lion that escaped from a ranch in Deokgok-myeon, Goryeong-gun, Gyeongbuk, was found hiding in the mountains. [Photos provided by Gyeongbuk Fire Headquarters and Yonhap News]

According to the Gyeongbuk Fire Headquarters and Goryeong-gun authorities on the 14th, at around 7:24 a.m., a female lion raised at a private ranch in Okgyeri, Deokgok-myeon, escaped from its enclosure.

The police and fire authorities dispatched to the scene searched for the lion and found it in a nearby mountain forest, shooting it dead at around 8:30 a.m.

A Goryeong Police Station official told Yonhap News, "We received a report that a female lion about 20 years old escaped from its enclosure and fled into the mountains," adding, "At around 8:30 a.m., hunters and police found and shot the lion about 4 to 5 meters inside the forest near the ranch."

Earlier, Goryeong-gun informed residents of the lion's escape through a disaster safety text message, urging caution and requesting that anyone who spots the lion report it to 119.

Shot female lion

The ranch was designated as a tourist farm in February last year, attracting visitors.

However, while the ranch had obtained operational permits related to cattle barns, it did not have permission to raise lions. Goryeong-gun considers that the ranch was illegally raising the lion.

A Goryeong-gun official said, "Even the nearby residents and village chief did not know that a lion was being raised," adding, "Suddenly, a call came to the responsible official saying, 'The female lion has escaped,' and we are currently investigating the situation."