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National Park Service to release 30 red foxes in Mount Sobaek area for species restoration project

Published: 06 Aug. 2025, 10:38 Updated: 06 Aug. 2025, 20:57

Red fox [KOREA NATIONAL PARK SERVICE]

The Korea National Park Service announced Wednesday that it will release 30 red foxes in the Mount Sobaek area as part of an ongoing restoration project. The species was pushed to the brink of extinction due to a rodent eradication campaign in the 1970s.

Once commonly seen across the Korean Peninsula, the red fox population began to plummet after its primary food source, rats, declined dramatically during the campaign. Compounding the issue, many foxes died of secondary poisoning after consuming rats that had ingested poison. The species is now classified as a first-grade endangered wild animal in Korea.

The restoration project in Mount Sobaek has been underway since 2012. Between 2013 and 2018, the program yielded an average of just 2.5 cubs per year. Since 2019, however, that figure has jumped to 33 annually.

“We created independent enclosures to reduce stress and monitored compatibility between males and females to encourage natural mating,” the Korea National Park Service said. “These changes have significantly improved birthrates.”

Although red foxes can live up to nine years in the wild, it is rare for them to survive beyond six due to human-related threats such as roadkill and illegal hunting.

About 28 percent of the red foxes released into the wild by the agency have died from such causes, including being hit by cars, getting caught in traps or ingesting agricultural chemicals.

The Ministry of Environment and the Korea National Park Service aim to increase the red fox population in the Mount Sobaek area to 100 by 2027 and establish at least five self-sustaining family groups that have successfully reproduced over three generations.

As a mid-level predator, the red fox plays a vital role in maintaining ecosystem balance by regulating populations of small animals such as rodents, birds, frogs and snakes, the agency said.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]