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Recently, there have been a number of cases where exotic animals that cannot be found in Korea have been found abandoned in local rivers or grassy forests.

Last 10 days Reptiles · A YouTube channel specializing in rare animals, Jungbr, posted a video titled, "It's serious, isn't it news when a wolf turtle caught in a river in my country is this big?"

In the video, Jungbre said, "A subscriber who was fishing gave us a tip that he had encountered a wolf turtle, which is an ecologically disturbed species," and looked at the wolf turtle captured by the subscriber and the location of the capture.

After examining a wolf turtle weighing more than 10 kilograms, Jungbre said, "I've never seen a wolf turtle this big," and headed to the stream where the wolf turtle was found, "It's such a good environment for wolf turtles to live in."

"Wolf turtles burrow deep in the ground near the water's edge to spawn," he said, "and if there is a wolf turtle in a place like this, it becomes an apex predator. No one can kill or harass a wolf tortoise."

In addition, Jungbr said that it receives a video from subscribers of a very large wolf turtle walking in the Bulgwangcheon in Seoul during the time of the flooding, and a video of a small wolf turtle that is believed to have been breeding walking in a river on Jeju Island.

"Overseas, accidents such as toes being cut off by wolf turtles or crocodile turtles can happen," he warned, adding, "Even if you actually find them, you shouldn't go near them."

At the same time, he said, "It was once a beloved creature and he must have had a family, but it's a pity," and stressed that "you shouldn't let it go like this just because it's hard to raise."

Afterwards, the captured wolf turtle was handed over through the city hall's environmental policy and ecological disturbance removal team, and the official in the video said, "Originally, in the case of ecologically disturbed species, it is a rule to dispose of them, but there is a possibility that they will be spared because an exhibition related to ecological disturbed species is planned."

Wolf turtles, which are native to North America, were very small (less than 10 cm) when they were young, so they were popular as cute pets, but when they grow up, they grow up to 50 cm in size, making it difficult to keep them at home, so there have been cases of abandonment in rivers.


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On the other hand, it is not difficult to find exotic species such as wolf turtles found in domestic rivers.

On March 3, the YouTube channel "Bird Ducks" specializing in birdwatching also asked, "Why are these birds here? Huge Australian birds appeared in our country out of nowhere," the video captioned the video was posted.

In the video, three black swans with black feathers with red beaks are seen feeding in a stream near the coast of Seogwipo City.

However, the black swan is not a migratory bird and is endemic to Australia, so it doesn't migrate very far.

In the case of the black swans found in Jeju, they also have a friendly side, such as approaching people when they get close to them, so it was assumed that they were raised by someone and abandoned or escaped.

Recently, African snakes have been spotted in Jeju, and the invasive flower deer is increasing its population in Halla Mountain, and the number of invasive exotic species is increasing day by day.

According to Article 18 of the Biological Diversity Act, no one shall release organisms that disturb the ecosystem or are of concern to the ecosystem into the ecosystem, and violation of this law shall be punished with imprisonment of not more than two years or a fine of not more than 24 million won.

(Photo = YouTube 'Jungbr', 'Saedukhu')