Bukang-i is back: shark returns to canal in South Korea hours after being coaxed out to sea

A shark that became a viral sensation after getting stuck in a South Korean canal for a month has returned just hours after being coaxed out to sea.

Nicknamed Bukang-i by fans, the 3.5-metre-long (9.8-foot) female dusky shark was first spotted in the waterway on 18 September.

On Wednesday, workers used nets fixed to floating pontoons to guide the shark free, but it dived beneath a net and returned to the canal in Busan overnight, authorities said.

“The shark is now between the outer net and an inner net installed 30 to 40 metres ... further inside the canal,” an oceans ministry official told AFP.

After it got trapped in September, officials initially opted to wait for the shark to leave on its own – but amid growing concerns for its wellbeing they took a more proactive approach. A fresh attempt to free Bukang-i was under way on Thursday morning, officials said.

Before Wednesday’s effort, authorities had twice tried and failed to steer Bukang-i back to sea, using water jets and then nets.

As each attempt failed, the shark amassed a huge following, drawing more than 1.6m people to the canal for a glimpse.

The affection for Bukang-i has become an industry, with a commemorative soju, a baseball mascot in a shark cape and an honorary city ambassadorship, and nearby shops reporting a surge in sales. South Korea’s president, Lee Jae Myung, visited the canal in mid-October.

Environmental groups have linked the shark’s appearance in the canal to warming seas, saying rising temperatures are pushing warm-water fish northwards, with subtropical sharks following in pursuit.

The fisheries institute recorded 46 large sharks off the east coast in the first half of this year, nearly four times as many as a year earlier, which it attributed to warmer seas and more of the fish that sharks feed on.