▲ Stuffed Korean tiger displayed in the hallway
Ahead of the 'Year of the Black Tiger', the year of Imin (壬寅年) in 2022, the only Korean stuffed tiger specimen in Korea is on display at an elementary school, attracting attention.
This specimen is currently on display in the hallway of Yudal Elementary School in Mokpo, Jeollanam-do.
The story of the one and only stuffed specimen in an elementary school rather than a natural history museum dates back 113 years.
In 1908, a farmer found and caught a female tiger trapped in a trap at the foot of Mt. Bulgap in Yeonggwang-gun, and sold the tiger to a wealthy Japanese.
The rich Japanese who took the tiger he had bought from a farmer and stuffed it in Japan donated it to Mokpo Yudal Elementary School (then Mokpo Public Simsang Elementary School), where Japanese students attended in 1909.
This stuffed tiger is still on display in a glass tube installed in the school hallway, 113 years later.
▲ Stuffed Korean tiger displayed in the hallway
The stuffed tiger is estimated to be around 10 years old at the time, with a body length of about 1m and 60cm, and a weight of about 180kg.
Some experts argue that systematic management is urgently needed as this stuffed animal is the only collected specimen of the Korean tiger, and as it is a valuable natural historical material with a definite age and region.
Although this specimen is the only data proving that tigers lived in Korea, it has been virtually neglected in the hallway of an elementary school for 113 years, and is losing its value as a specimen.
Dr. Kim Seok-i diagnosed that "(the specimen) was exposed to sunlight before it was stored and displayed in a glass tube, so it was discolored, the length of the hair was shortened, and the glossy hair was rough."
An official from Mokpo City said, "This specimen is not the private property of Yudal Elementary School, but the public property of the state, and systematic preservation and management is urgently needed before it deteriorates further."
Mokpo City and the National Center for Biological Resources in the Honam Region contacted Yudal Elementary School several times for specimen preservation and display, but the school is showing that the specimen is the property of the school and the alumni association strongly opposes it.
Meanwhile, the last official record is that a Korean tiger was killed at Daedeok Mountain in Gyeongju in 1921.
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(Photo = Yonhap News)