Ulsan City Successfully Concludes This Year's Eagle School and Feeding Site Programs

Operated 13 Times with 1,697 Citizens Participating
Vulture Release Event for Rescued Birds Also Held

Ulsan City and the Green Energy Promotion Citizens Forum successfully concluded the '2025 Ulsan Vulture School and Feeding Site Operation,' an experience program for the endangered wild animal, the vulture, which visited Ulsan.

Participants of Eagle School are taking a group commemorative photo. Photo by Ulsan City

This year's vulture experience consisted of the operation of the vulture feeding site, the vulture school, and a release event for rescued vultures.

The vulture feeding site was operated from November 16 last year to March 18 this year in the areas of Ipam-ri, Beomseo-eup, Ulju-gun, and Samho Island, Daun-dong, Jung-gu.

Over a total of 43 sessions, 13.7 tons of food were provided to the vultures every Wednesday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The food supply was enriched by the Green Energy Promotion Citizens Forum (co-representatives Kim Juhong and Jung Yonghwan), which received 9.9 tons of pork, offal, beef tallow, and more from Beomseo Meat Restaurant, Sacheon Meat Restaurant, and Ulsan Bossam.

Together with the 3.8 tons supported by Ulsan City, a daily supply of 300 to 400 kg of food was provided.

The vulture feeding site was relocated from Ipam-ri, Beomseo-eup, Ulju-gun to the Taehwagang River islet in Daun-dong, Jung-gu starting this January. Initially, the vultures were unfamiliar with the new feeding site.

As the vultures gradually adapted, up to 200 visited the feeding site in a single day, with an average of 99 vultures using the site daily.

The Vulture School operated from January 4 to March 1 on Samho Island, offering programs such as feeding vultures and ecological observation.

Participants listened to explanations about vulture ecology from guides, took photos wearing vulture wings, and joined hands-on events like making their own vulture.

The Vulture School was held 13 times with a total of 1,697 participants, averaging 131 per session. This shows a higher participation rate compared to last year’s 11 sessions with 990 participants and an average of 90 per session.

Most participants were Ulsan citizens, and many expressed their desire to return for future events and next year's experience program to see the vultures again.

Additionally, on February 26 and March 6, a vulture release event was held on the islet of Samho Island in the Taehwagang River, drawing attention as vultures rescued by the Ulsan Wildlife Rescue Center after being exhausted or injured in Ulsan were released back into the wild.

Eagle Release Event for Rescued Eagles (Captured from Eagle School Promotional Video).

In particular, the release event on March 6 included a vulture with a ruptured eye and another rescued from water. Preschool children and other participants who attended the event gave a round of applause, hoping the healthy vultures would return to Ulsan again.

A city official stated, "We organized the vulture experience event to promote Ulsan's bird safari and birdwatching tourism. Although we selected new locations for the feeding site and Vulture School so that the vultures could stay safely, it took time for them to adapt to the unfamiliar sites. Next year, we will prepare and operate the program so that the vultures can visit and spend the winter even more safely."

Ulsan City also produced a promotional video for the Vulture School, featuring participants' feedback. It will be shared through the city's official YouTube channel, Whale TV, and will be used for recruiting participants for next year's Vulture School.