In Yanggu, Gangwon, there is a goat breeding restoration center. Since Sanyang is Natural Monument No. 217, it is an institution operated by Yanggu County with the support of the Cultural Heritage Administration. When the phone rings loudly, employees are in a hurry. This is because East Sea often calls for rescue of mountain goats that need to be sent out immediately. Most mountain goats are in danger during heavy snowfall. Buried in the snow and unable to feed for several days, they cannot walk properly and are found collapsed near the road at the bottom of the mountain. However, since two years ago, agricultural nets have been seeking the lives of mountain goats. I put it up to protect the crops from wild boars and elk, but the wrong mountain goats will spark. Since both males and females have two horns on their heads, nets are more dangerous for mountain goats.


A mountain goat caught in a net... Reports of rescue requests one after another

Seven months ago, on August 7 last year, a report of the rescue of a mountain goat came in from Jeongseon, Gangwon. The scene was exhausted by corn fields, netted mountain goats stuck in mud. He is an eight-year-old male with horns and face wrapped around his net. He severely injured his eyes from how much he used to get out. The more he struggled, the tighter the net tightened, deepening the wound. The net was cut and rescued painstakingly, but the mountain sheep could not overcome the after-effects of the wound and died five days later.



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The nets that threaten mountain goats are not confined to the fields. Nets cast in rivers to catch fish are also dangerous for the lives of mountain goats. Once you get caught, you can't get out on your own. Whether or not to rescue is the difference between life and death, and it depends on how quickly it is found and the report comes in. On May 5 last year, one mountain goat caught in a net was found in the Soyang River in Yanggu. It's not that the mountain goat went into the river and got caught. He came down to the river to get some water and was involved in an accident by a net exposed out of the water. As the water level dropped, the nets in the river came out of the water. The mountain goat caught in the net is a three-year-old female. He was full of rampaging energy, as if he had just been in an accident. Rescuers sweated hard to get it out of the net. Fortunately, he was not injured and his exhaustion was not very severe, so he recovered his health. It is being protected by the Goat Breeding and Restoration Center, and it plans to return it to nature within this year.



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Rescue 5 mountain goats in 7 cities and counties in Gangwon

Seven mountain goats were caught in nets and had accidents for one year and three months from May 2021, 5 to August 6 last year. In Yanggu, Hwacheon, Hongcheon, Jeongseon, Chuncheon, and five other counties in Gangwon, mountain goats were killed or injured by nets. There were three cases in Yanggu and one each in the remaining four cities and counties. There are 8 males and 2 female. There were two 1-year-old individuals, 3 at 7 years, 5 at 3 years, and 4 at 1 years. Four of them were found dead at the scene. Of the three animals rescued alive, one died and only two are currently in care.



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Most of the field nets that threaten mountain goats are seaweed farming nets with large noses that fit the head and neck. Ahn Jae-yong, chief officer of the Yanggu County Office, who rushes to the rescue site day and night, said, "Horned animals like mountain goats are the first to get caught in the net, and as they move to get out, their faces and necks are wrapped," adding, "They are exhausted, unable to breathe, and their wounds deepen and die."



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The mountain goat is a natural monument and has been designated as a class 2005 endangered species since 1. It lives in steep mountainous areas with rocks that make it difficult for other animals to access. They mate in the fall and give birth to 5~6 chicks in May~June of the following year. There are six species in the world that belong to the bovine family, and the species that inhabit our country are known as the mountain goat, which lives in eastern China and southeastern Siberia. In Korea, Seoraksan, Mintongseon, Uljin, and Samcheon are representative habitats. It feeds on 1 species of herbaceous plants, including grasses, leaves, tree nuts, mosses, and coniferous branches. When the leaves begin to fall around the end of October, they gradually descend the mountain from the subalpine zone and move to an altitude of 2~6m. Dr. Cho Jae-woon, director of the Goat Breeding and Restoration Center, said, "When sprouts and grass begin to emerge from the bottom of the mountain in spring, the mountain goats follow their food back up the mountain and live in the subalpine zone in summer."



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The restoration of the mountain goat began in 2007... Habitat target from Seoraksan to Jirisan

In 2007, a plan to restore the mountain goat was formulated and started at Woraksan. The goal is to restore the mountain goat habitat from Seoraksan to Jirisan on the Paektu Daegan. Unlike the restoration project of the bear, which is being carried out from Mount Jiri to Mount Seorak, the mountain sheep are allowed to live by gradually descending from Mount Seorak to Mount Jiri. As of 2020, the number of mountain goats in Woraksan has increased to 103. A mountain goat was also found in 2016 on Songnisan Mountain, and it was confirmed that it was a migrated individual from Woraksan Mountain. As mountain goats carve out their habitat, it is evidence that restoration work is progressing smoothly. The National Institute of Ecology's Endangered Species Restoration Center launched a survey of mountain goat habitats nationwide last year. It is an annual five-year plan, so it will take 5 years for the results of the survey. However, the mountain goat population now stands at about 26,1, according to the Center for Endangered Species Restoration.


Hurry up to prepare measures to protect mountain goats

In order to reduce the number of mountain goat field net accidents, the net nose is small, dense, does not stretch, and the taut net is relatively safe, Cho Jae-woon explained. In addition to mountain goats, roe deer and elk, whose populations are much larger, are more frequently affected by field net damage. However, field nets are set up around the fields by farmers to protect their crops, making it difficult to crack down. This is because it is different from poaching, which is set up in the mountains for the purpose of catching wild animals.

A class 1 endangered mountain goat is dying from being caught in a field net. Efforts to restore the mountain goat habitat that has spread from Seoraksan to Soknisan may come to naught. Before more goats are caught in the nets and die, measures must be taken to reduce damage to vegetable gardens and protect mountain goats. Before the population proliferates, it is necessary to create an environment where mountain goats can live safely. The only way to take a back seat in a field net accident is to tell the mountain goat to know and avoid the minefield.