The Cultural Heritage Administration Strengthens Winter Protection Measures for Mountain Goats

Expansion of Shelters and Food Supply for Cold Wave Preparedness
Strengthening Rescue Operations through Public-Private Cooperation

The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on the 27th that it will strengthen protection measures for the Korean goral in preparation for the winter cold wave. This measure is a follow-up plan established after numerous gorals died collectively due to heavy snowfall caused by abnormal weather last winter, and is part of the "Protection Measures for Korean Goral in Preparation for Natural Disasters such as Heavy Snowfall" formulated last October.

A Korean goral using a shelter installed to prevent isolation and freezing.
[Photo by National Heritage Administration]

Previously, the Cultural Heritage Administration cooperated with military units within the Civilian Control Line in Yanggu and Hwacheon, where gorals died last year, to install 20 additional shelters to prevent isolation and death from cold, and 10 feeding platforms to prevent starvation. In addition, 31 real-time surveillance cameras will be additionally installed to monitor the usage status of the gorals.

Furthermore, in cooperation with the relevant military units, measures will be taken to promptly report rescue cases when gorals in need of rescue are found within the Civilian Control Line. In areas where civilians are not allowed to enter, education will be provided to enable direct feeding.

The Cultural Heritage Administration will inspect the habitat status of gorals in the northern Gangwon region and strengthen breeding and restoration efforts to recover the lost population. Releases will be conducted in areas with insufficient populations in cooperation with related organizations.

Feeding at a serow shelter installed within the Demilitarized Zone to prevent isolation and death of serows.
[Photo by National Heritage Administration]

In addition, joint patrol activities between the public and private sectors will be strengthened for proactive winter rescue of gorals, and additional openings will be made in fences within areas where goral movement is restricted by African Swine Fever (ASF) prevention fences.

The Cultural Heritage Administration stated, "We will continue to strengthen ongoing inspections and swift measures to identify potential risks in the goral conservation process in advance and to recover the lost populations."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.