National Parks Turn into a "Wildlife Documentary Hotspot" for the Lunar New Year Holiday

Over the Lunar New Year holiday, national parks have been transformed into the setting of a wildlife documentary.

The Korea National Park Service under the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment announced on February 14 that, to mark the Lunar New Year, it has released videos capturing vivid scenes of various wild animals living in national parks, including endangered wildlife species.

Jirisan Asian black bear. Korea National Park Service.

The videos feature first-grade endangered wildlife such as the Asiatic black bear, fox, otter, and long-tailed goral, as well as second-grade endangered species including the yellow-throated marten and leopard cat. They also show the everyday lives of long-time national park residents such as water deer, roe deer, and weasels. Not only individual movements but also family-group behaviors were captured, adding the fun of watching what feels like a "wildlife family drama."

The footage was filmed using unmanned monitoring cameras installed throughout national parks in areas including Jirisan, Seoraksan, Sobaeksan, Gyeryongsan, Palgongsan, Mudeungsan, Gayasan, and Gyeongju. By recording both day- and nighttime activities that are not easily seen by people, a large number of rarely witnessed scenes have been made public.

In Sobaeksan, the cameras captured a tense moment of a swift yellow-throated marten hunting a fawn, along with scenes of a fox moving about on its own. They also recorded two roe deer locking antlers and testing each other's strength.

The Daily Life of a Fox Family (Sobaeksan). Korea National Park Service.

In Palgongsan, footage showed a mother water deer trying to protect her fawn despite the threat posed by a yellow-throated marten. In Gyeongju and Gyeryongsan, the cameras filmed a family of leopard cats moving in a line and dynamic scenes of a leopard cat chasing a badger.

In the Gyeongju, Gayasan, and Gyeryongsan areas, more relaxed everyday moments of martens were also released, including a "bath time," a tense scene of two sibling martens crossing a single-log bridge, and a family playing together. In Seoraksan, cameras observed a family of otters busily moving about and a mother long-tailed goral guarding her sleeping young. In Mudeungsan, they captured two otters swimming and a large family of weasels on the move.

Marten hunting a fawn (Sobaeksan). Korea National Park Service.

The Korea National Park Service explained that these videos are intended not just as visual attractions, but to highlight the importance of protecting endangered wildlife and conserving biodiversity.

Joo Daeyoung, President of the Korea National Park Service, said, "These videos are valuable ecological data obtained in national parks through unmanned monitoring cameras," adding, "We will continue to do our utmost to protect and conserve the national park ecosystem, including endangered species, so that it can remain healthy."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.