- Published
As soon as a large shark was spotted in a canal in Busan - a bustling shipping hub and beach city on South Korea's south-eastern tip - marine biologist Kim Hyun-woo was drafted in to rescue it.
asserted
woo → publish → it
He got the call in mid-September, on his way home from a business trip tracking shoals of mackerel to aid fishing vessels.
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He → get → vessels
Despite being one of the country's leading shark experts, he never thought he'd be asked by the coastguard to actually save one.
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he → lead → one
South Korea is no stranger to sharks but one this size, in a shallow, concrete canal right by the world's seventh busiest port, was unheard of - until now.
With an excited crowd already gathering at the waterfront, his team from the National Institute of Fisheries Science had to move fast.
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team → gather → Science
The first task was to determine the species.
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task → determine → species
The star of the 1975 blockbuster Jaws, the great white shark, is known to attack and kill humans.
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star → know → humans
The specimen in Busan was found to be a female dusky shark, a species linked only to two deadly attacks.
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specimen → find → attacks
Still, Kim feared someone in the crowd might jump or fall into the canal.
uncertain
someone → fear → canal
The shark had to return to sea.
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shark → have → sea
A small coastguard ship made an initial attempt using an electrical deterrence device, which generates a weak current that sharks avoid.
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sharks → make → that
They're usually used after sightings near popular beaches.
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They → use → beaches
But after five hours, officials determined this particular shark was too large and fast for the device.
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shark → determine → device
Kim changed tack, deciding instead to wait for the shark to let herself out.
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shark → change → herself
But that did not happen.
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that → happen → ?
As authorities looked for ways to guide her out of the canal, the stranded creature went viral.
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creature → look → canal
Just hours after she appeared, the council had sent everyone in the city an emergency text alert, urging pedestrians and residents to "exercise caution for their safety".
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council → appear → safety
People rarely visited the park along the canal but because of the message, the place was soon brimming with people eager to spot the shark.
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place → visit → shark
Adoring fans named her Bukangi, from "buk hang", the Korean name of the nearby harbour.
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fans → adore → harbour
Within days, a business trademarked it and Bukangi pins, plushies and t-shirts began selling online.
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pins → trademark → it
City authorities joined in, livestreaming the shark and making her their official mascot.
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her → join → shark
A banner was hung at the entrance of the canal, asking the public to sign a petition "on behalf of Bukangi" to demand the national government's support for the construction of a new 30,000-seater baseball stadium by the canal.
Shark spotting became a team effort among locals and visitors.
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spotting → hang → locals
The unspoken rule was that children were given the front row, and whoever saw Bukangi had to point her out to newer arrivals.
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saw → give → arrivals
Some self-appointed defenders even patrolled the canal at night to make sure no-one was shining torches or lasers at Bukangi.
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one → appoint → Bukangi
More than 1.6 million visitors ultimately flocked to the canal.
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visitors → flock → canal
The local mayor said the shark brought "the kind of publicity even billions of dollars cannot buy" to the port.
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billions → say → port
"It's really rare these days for people to come together," said Kim Joo-eun, who came to see the shark with her two nieces.
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who → come → nieces
"I feel that Bukangi brought us all together, cheering for her…
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Bukangi → feel → her
But officials couldn't leave Bukangi in the canal.
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officials → leave → canal
As September drew to an end, she hadn't been seen feeding for days and was spotted with bloody abrasions on her snout from bumping into the concrete walls.
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she → draw → walls
Prominent marine biology professor, Choi Yoon told local media that experts were particularly worried about a "critical" injury around the shark's eye.
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experts → tell → eye
At the end of September, Kim's team mounted another rescue attempt.
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team → mount → attempt
The marine biologist looked back to a 2004 incident in Massachusetts, when water jets were used to drive a great white shark away from a shallow pond.
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jets → look → pond
But when the team tried this on Bukangi, she kept circling back.
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she → try → Bukangi
On 2 October, they decided to install a net spanning the width of the canal to stop her from returning.
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they → decide → her
She managed to swim around the net and was back within hours.
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She → manage → hours
At this point, Kim started thinking the shark might have problems with her snout's electromagnetic sensors, which she uses for navigation.
uncertain
she → start → navigation
Or she might have become confused by the loud noises emitted by ships in the harbour.
uncertain
she → confuse → harbour
The reason Bukangi was even in the canal may be a sign of warming seas, the oceans ministry suggests.
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ministry → warm → seas
It believes she may have followed plentiful fish to warmer waters.
uncertain
she → believe → waters
Some 50 large sharks were recorded off South Korea's east coast in the first half of the year; four times as many as last year.
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sharks → record → year
…and 28 more, not listed.
The Aporia
