At Cheongju Zoo, animals with nowhere else to go find a welcome sanctuary

CHEONGJU — A zoo in Cheongju, North Chungcheong, is becoming a haven for wild animals with nowhere else to go, from bears rescued from bile farms to injured native birds and famous "bone lion" Barami.

The emaciated bone lion, however, was nowhere to be seen at Cheongju Zoo on the afternoon of April 28. Instead, a male lion with a full mane was rubbing his body against the dirt floor at the zoo's wildlife protection facility. He got his nickname because he was so thin at the time of his rescue that his ribs were visible.

The now 22-year-old Barami arrived at Cheongju Zoo in July 2023 after living alone at a zoo in South Gyeongsang. 

Since coming to Cheongju Zoo, Barami has lived with Dodo, a 14-year-old lioness. The zoo arranged this in consideration of the lions’ social nature.

His living environment has also improved. Barami’s enclosure measures 1,650 square meters (1,973 square yards), roughly 20 times larger than his previous cage. He can step on soil and climb wooden structures for simple play.

Gureumi, Barami’s daughter, who had been under temporary protection at a zoo in Gangneung, Gangwon, also came to Cheongju Zoo in August 2024 with the help of a married pair of zookeepers.

Barami, who is nearing 100 in lion years, is spending his final years in comfort at Cheongju Zoo. When he gazed beyond the enclosure that day, Dodo approached and rubbed her cheek and head against him several times. It was head-bunting, a behavior felines use to express affection and trust.

“Barami is old and has poor joints, but he has such a good appetite that he eats five kilograms [11 pounds] of raw chicken and beef a day,” said Kim Jeong-ho, a veterinarian and head of Cheongju Zoo’s medical team. “Because Gureumi was raised by people from birth, he does not seem to know she is his daughter.”

A sanctuary for wildlife animals

The city-run zoo was designated by the Environment Ministry as an ex situ conservation institution in 2014. Since then, it has been working to conserve and restore endangered wildlife, including leopards, wolves, red foxes, Asiatic black bears, lynxes, cranes, leopard cats and eagles.

After being designated as a regional hub zoo by the ministry in 2024, the zoo also established a wildlife conservation center. A regional hub zoo provides examinations and treatment for animals at nearby zoos that lack full-time veterinarians. The center is an animal-hospital-level facility equipped with an operating room and an examination room.

The zoo’s wild-release training grounds increased to two — one for mammals and one for birds — as the conservation hall for natural monument animals opened in April to help rehabilitate large birds such as vultures and eagle-owls. Two wild vultures rescued in Ulsan have completed health checkups and are preparing for their first training.

“Even if owners abandon their pets, such as dogs or cats, there is a system in place for someone to take them in, but there are limits when it comes to zoo animals,” the zoo’s medical team head, Kim, said. “It would be good for public zoos to serve as shelters for animals with nowhere else to go and as places that treat injured wild animals.”

Cheongju Zoo began transforming into a space designed around animal welfare in 2018.

At the end of that year, it took in Asiatic black bears Bani, Dari and Deuri, which had been rescued from a bear bile extraction farm. Before moving them in, the zoo spent 200 million won ($135,400), including state funding, to extensively renovate the bear enclosure. It removed all concrete structures and dismantled interior walls to expand the space. Soil was laid on the floor, and a pond was added so the bears could play in the water. Staff members made the log structures themselves.

“If the floor were made of cement, cleaning would be easier, but it would break the bears’ claws and damage their joints,” Kim said. “In the past, many farm owners fed Asiatic black bears chicken, frozen pollack or leftover food from humans because they lacked information about bears.”

He added, “Looking at the Asiatic black bears restored to Mount Jiri, however, they eat a mostly plant-based diet, such as tree nuts. Bani and Dari like acorns best.”

Fewer animals, more space

The zoo continued to improve the conditions in its animal enclosures following a decline in animal numbers. The number of animals at the zoo has fallen sharply from about 500 animals across about 130 species to 266 animals across 62 species.

To reduce the intentional breeding of zoo animals that cannot survive in the wild, the zoo performed sterilization procedures on animals such as goats and leopards. As breeding stopped, the number of animals fell, and empty cages emerged.

Some birds kept in cramped raptor enclosures were sent to larger facilities in Jeonju, North Jeolla, while group-living animals were placed with animals that had similar habits when left alone.

The newly freed space was opened up so the remaining animals could use it more widely. The space where five wolves now live was created that way.

“The wolf enclosure was originally divided into five sections where visitors could view five species of herbivores, including Himalayan tahrs and mouflons,” Kim said. “After the wolves arrived from O-World five years ago, we gradually merged the enclosures. Now only the wolves live in a large sloped area.” O-World is an amusement park in Daejeon.

Part of the space where two otters live was originally occupied by a seal. After the seal was sent to a large aquarium on Jeju Island, the otter enclosure was roughly doubled in size.

Four goats also live together with Taedori, a miniature pig.

Native animals are also cared for by animal welfare staff, including an eagle owl that suffered a permanent disability after injuring its wing two years ago, a northern goshawk rescued in South Gyeongsang five years ago and badgers and raccoon dogs rescued from the wild and hand-reared.

“Wild animals are highly wary, so they prefer environments where they can look out from high places rather than flat ground,” Kim said.

"Cheongju Zoo was built in the mountains and has steep slopes," he continued. "At first, this was a disadvantage, but after we brought in native wild animals, it turned out to be an advantage."

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY CHOI JONG-KWON [[email protected]]