SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A wolf that escaped from a South Korean zoo was recaptured on Friday, authorities said, after he caused a school closure, a huge nine-day search and a government gaffe over an AI-generated image.

The young male canine, named Neukgu, dug himself out of his enclosure in the central city of Daejeon on 8 April and had been on the run ever since.

Authorities deployed hundreds of officers, drones and thermal cameras to track down the elusive runaway, who kept slipping through the net despite several sightings.