Bukangi the Busan shark is guided out to sea after 8 hours, then swims straight back to the canal

Bukangi, the dusky shark that turned a canal in the South Korean port city of Busan into a tourist attraction, was guided out to open water on Wednesday after a livestreamed eight-hour rescue, then swam straight back to the canal mouth and has kept circling there since, the BBC reported on Thursday, 22 October 2026.

How a shark became Busan's mascot

The three-metre (10ft) shark was first spotted in the canal on 18 September. Over the following month it drew more than 1.6 million visitors to the park overlooking the water, and Busan adopted it as an unofficial mascot. Clips of it gliding past crowds of onlookers made it an online sensation.

Experts think unusually warm water and plenty of fish drew it in. With the sea warming each year, they say Busan could see more sharks in future.

The rescue that did not quite work

Authorities grew worried because the shark looked injured and was not eating; videos showed what appeared to be a bloodied snout, and falling water temperatures could weaken it further. Two earlier attempts to net it out had failed.

On Wednesday rescuers spent more than eight hours easing it with a net toward open water as hundreds of fans cheered and waved goodbye. On Thursday morning Bukangi reportedly broke through a barrier and swam back into the canal, where it was briefly trapped between two layers of nets. Rescuers removed the outer layer to free it and reinforced the inner one so it cannot return.

Since then the shark has been swimming further out but keeps returning to the mouth of the waterway. A government official told the BBC on Thursday afternoon that the rescue operation has ended.

Busan is split

Some residents protested the eviction. Cho Hannah, who travelled two hours to see the shark, held a cardboard sign and called it "a rare gift" to Busan. "This shark has made this canal her home, and we are kicking her out unnecessarily," she said.

Others were relieved. "Bukangi seemed much larger when I first saw her on 18 September. Now she seems gaunt. I'm worried for her health if she stays," said Yoon In-taek. Shin Seungmin said the shark "brought so much joy to us" but "should go and live her normal shark life."

Is a dusky shark dangerous?

Dusky sharks are large coastal sharks found in warm seas around the world, including the Arabian Sea off Pakistan's coast. They feed mainly on fish and are rarely involved in attacks on people. They are also slow to breed, which makes them vulnerable to overfishing.