Scientists Suspect Harbor Noise May Be Confusing a Trapped Shark
Rescuers are on a third attempt to free Bukangi in Busan, and one scientist suspects harbor clutter is making the way out hard to find.
Global News Podcast · Zelensky says US intelligence sharing is back onFor more than a month, a three-meter-long shark nicknamed Bukangi has been trapped in an artificial waterway in Busan, a city in southern South Korea. More than 1.6 million people have visited the harbor to see her. Authorities are now trying for a third time to free her.
Kim Hyung-woo, a scientist with South Korea's National Institute of Fisheries Science who leads the rescue effort, has offered one possible explanation for why she has stayed so long. He suggests the bustle of the working port may be confusing her, though he puts it as a suspicion rather than a proven cause.
Kim says the harbor holds a jumble of "noise, lights, and electrical signals" arriving from different sides. What that is like for the shark, he says, is "trying to hear someone speaking in a noisy place." His team thinks "there are just too many external physical stimuli" and that "might be making it difficult for the shark to properly find its way out."
For now, rescuers keep trying to guide her toward the sea while that bustle continues.
Questions people ask
How does a shark normally find its way around?
Sharks use several senses together, including smell, vision, hearing, and the ability to detect tiny electrical fields made by living animals. In the ocean, those signals usually point in a clear direction. In a harbor, engines, sonar, lights, and metal structures create competing signals that can mask the natural ones.
Do lights really affect a shark underwater?
Yes. Bright or flashing lights can attract attention, startle a shark, or wash out the dimmer natural light it would use to orient. In shallow, clear water, the effect is stronger because there is less depth to soften the glare.
Where do all the electrical signals in a harbor come from?
A commercial port is full of powered equipment, from ship engines and generators to pumps, cranes, radar, and underwater cables. Many of those systems leak sound, vibration, light, or weak electric fields into the water. A shark swimming through can encounter all of them at once.