Busan is good

“I’m Back!” Whooper Swan Raised on Eulsukdo Island in Busan Completes Round-Trip Migration Between Russia and the Nakdong River Estuary

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The Nakdong River Estuary Eco Center under the Busan Nakdong River Project Management Office announced that “Yeoreumi,” a whooper swan that underwent adaptation training at the Eulsukdo Waterbird Alternative Habitat in Busan, departed for its breeding grounds in Russia last year, returned to Busan to spend the winter, and has recently been confirmed to have migrated north to Russia again for the breeding season.

A whooper swan, a Class II Endangered Wildlife Species and Natural Monument, born and raised in a zoo successfully completed an international migratory route on its own after undergoing wild adaptation training and returned to its place of upbringing. This marks the first recorded case in Korea of a zoo-born whooper swan joining a wild flock and successfully completing a round-trip migration.

Yeoreumi hatched at Everland in Yongin in May 2023 and was transferred to the Eulsukdo Waterbird Alternative Habitat in Busan in October of the same year, where it received systematic training to adapt to life in the wild.

In the spring of 2025, GPS tracking data attached to the bird confirmed that Yeoreumi had flown approximately 2,300 kilometers in a single journey, traveling through Ulsan and North Korea to Primorsky Krai in Russia, drawing significant attention from the academic community.

An even more remarkable development followed. After spending the breeding season in Russia, Yeoreumi moved south in October 2025 to areas near Yeongdeok and Gyeongsan in Gyeongsangbuk-do as autumn temperatures began to fall, spent the winter there, and then, in March 2026, returned—albeit somewhat later than expected—to the Eulsukdo Waterbird Alternative Habitat in Busan, where it had previously undergone adaptation training.

Afterward, Yeoreumi remained for more than a month, primarily in and around the Eulsukdo Waterbird Alternative Habitat, feeding sufficiently and resting. It was later confirmed that the bird departed for Russia again in April 2026, following a migration pattern similar to that of the previous year. Recent tracking results revealed that it has settled once again in Primorsky Krai near Vladivostok, where it had stayed a year earlier.

What makes Yeoreumi’s journey even more extraordinary is the poignant story of its parents.

Yeoreumi’s father, “Nalgae,” was rescued in 1996 after being shot by a hunter. Permanently disabled and no longer able to fly, Nalgae was cared for at Everland and later became the parent of Yeoreumi.

Although its parents lost the ability to fly, Yeoreumi successfully completed the long round-trip journey between Russia and Korea, the homeland of its parents, traversing thousands of kilometers through the skies.

Bird experts regard this case as a significant ecological achievement that goes beyond the mere survival of an artificially reared bird. They note that it demonstrates the complete recovery of the complex migratory instincts found in wild birds.

Seo Jin-won, Director of the Nakdong River Estuary Eco Center, said, “The fact that Yeoreumi, which grew up on Eulsukdo, traveled to its original breeding grounds in Russia and then returned to Busan demonstrates how valuable and safe the Nakdong River Estuary is as a haven for migratory birds.” He added, “We will continue to do our utmost to create one of the world’s finest habitats where people and nature coexist.”