Wife: Not here, not here
Husband: No?
Wife: Nope
Wife: Ah!! Hahahahaha
Husband: Wow… it was on top of the fridge
A tiny birdie so tiny that we can’t spot easily was sitting on top of a fridge
What is this fella’s identity, that’s smaller than the size of a palm?
Husband: It’s a titmouse, a titmouse
Producer: Titmouse? Husband: Yes
Producer: Is this bird your pet?
Husband: No, it’s a wild bird that lives in the wilderness
A titmouse is a common bird that can be spotted easily not only in the mountains but also in our lives…
But, why is this fella inside a chicken diner?
Producer: Did you make a report because of this fella?
Husband: No, well I reported because of them
Producer: What do you mean ‘them’?
Husband: This one survived, but… the rest of his friends all died
Him saying all other titmice have all died…
What does this mean…? In order to hear the details, the production crew heads out with the diner owner
Husband: There are a lot of dead fellas… look, look. One’s dead here already
Really, there a titmouse was left dead
Husband: Oh no, there’s a lot here. Three, four, five, six…
Not just one, but six titmice are dead on a street that people pass by all the time, in the heart of the city
It’s purely a shocking sight…
Husband: It’s been a week since there’s been a lot of these cases. At first, when one or two would fall
we didn’t think much about it but, as they continued to fall. I think dozens of them fell within this week
Students: Ugh! Oh my~~
Student: Hey! That was scary
Producer: Huh? When did this one die?
Husband: This one wasn’t there before but it fell
Husband: It’s alive. This one’s a male. This one’s alive
Fortunately, this fella’s still alive
Mister takes the fella to the diner hurriedly and feeds him water first
The fella that was inside was also found like this and was able to survive thanks to mister’s care…
Mass death that’s been continuing for over a week
The production crew lost words to such horrible sight that’s hard to believe…
Producer: It’s so tiny… it’s smaller than my palm
Most of the fellas were young titmice that were still growing
Grandma: This is a baby. Those are all chicks
Someone must have killed these ones that can’t even fly
Local: I think the mother left somewhere and the chicks died
They must have made the efforts to fly looking for their mom but as they fell from a high place, they probably lost their lives…
The production crew looked for a nest nearby both inside and outside of the building but,
they couldn’t find any traces of a bird’s nest or traces of their living
As mass deaths of titmice continued, recovering the birds’ corpses have become a part of his daily routine
Husband: The bodies I’ve gathered here, there’s a big titmouse here.
All these are the corpses of the chicks
Then, wouldn’t someone have witnessed their deaths that continued on…?
Producer: When you clock in around this time, have you seen a bird dead on the street?
Store owner nearby: Yes, I’ve placed the corpses in the back
Producer: Where?
This lady who operates a hair salon in the same building has also been gathering corpses of the birds at the back of the building
Producer: Have you witnessed how they die?
Store owner nearby: Yes, I didn’t witness them falling but…
Store owner nearby 2: I witnessed them dead on the ground, fallen from above
Store owner nearby 3: Whenever I clock in, every day (they’re dead)
Husband: I’ve never witnessed them die. I only saw them dead
While the production crew kept asking around without any result
Producer: What?? Another one’s dead! Didn’t we gather all of them a bit ago…
Soon another fella was found dead
Wife: Over there at that apartment, an elementary school kid told me even at the apartment, birds are found dead, fallen
The shocking thing is that the same thing happened at the apartment opposite the building
Apartment tenant: They were here. I think someone must’ve taken them
Apartment tenant: Oh, there’s a feather here Producer: Where?
Really, inside the apartment complex, bodies of titmice were found
Right when the production crew was asking around in the complex
Security guard: At times there are ones that are found dead. They fly into the windows and just fall. If they hit the windows, they die
The security guard witnessed them hitting the window and die
Hearing that, the exterior walls of the problematic building was also covered in glass
Then perhaps the mass deaths of the titmice were also because of the glass walls
To find out the truth, the production crew set up cameras here and there at the building and observed
As soon as the day broke, visited the site again
Again, the birds were dead in front of the building
Husband: (What on earth) what’s really happening..?
Looked into the recorded footage to check if the glass walls really have any relation to the mass deaths of the birds
Wife: Oh oh, one’s falling
Husband: There’s a number of them
Wife: A number of them?
The truth checked from the video was just shocking
The video contained the last moments of the birds falling from hitting the wall while flying…
People were left speechless by the shocking truth
The production crew visited an expert in haste
Wild animal expert: All of them… I think all of them were born this year looking at their maturity…
Expert: Oh, this is bad…
Expert: There’s more here..!
Expert: Wow... this is bad... really...
Expert: Sir, is it a bird there? / Bird? It fell again
Expert: This fella… it’s still… look it’s moving.
This fella just fell
Producer: Oh, it’s still moving. It’s breathing. Oh, what to do
Expert: Actually, this fella was hurt too severely to a point it can’t be recovered…
Expert: 8 birds… 8 birds fell within less than 5 minutes of time…
Oh my… goodness… I mean… sigh…
Expert: There aren’t many cases like this. There aren’t many occasions of mass deaths. It’s very rare.
But, I’m assuming this is the birds’ movement path or the like
Expert assumes this is the movement path of the titmice
Security guard: It was the mountains here and even here, there was a mountain
It turns out this area was developed into a new city and the buildings were built where the mountains were
Expert: If you look the building are located on the path that comes down from Seoraksan Mountain.
So if they’re moving as a family unit, then the entire family gets killed
But, how come they weren’t able to dodge the glass window?
Expert: The spot they aren’t easily spotted by their enemies, it’s between these buildings. If you look there’s a space here and they want to go between them
but as they approach, if you look it’s the mountain. Look now, the mountain in front
From the birds’ perspective that place is a mountain
As the exterior of the building was glass, as the birds saw it they must have mistaken it for a path...
Really, the windows still had traces of the bumps made by birds
Expert: These fellas have a high possibility of moving to a warm place. They have a possibility of crossing over the Esat Sea to Japan
So there's a high possibility this will recur annually, in the seasons
These can repeat every year around this time…
It was reported similar accidents of birds are increasing every year
In the last year, collision accidents that have been reported voluntarily by the citizens are over 5,900 cases
but, countless birds are dying every year, hitting the glass of buildings
National Institute of Ecology, Ministry of Animal Welfare: Generally, our research results show that about 8 million are killed annually and about 20K a day
The way we see it, this is an issue that’s been over 20 years
But the deaths of birds that have been happening for a while, how come we weren’t aware of it?
For example, if the birds were of the same nature as tomatoes, there would have been a lot of blood on the glass windows
And we would have known. If they (birds) were hard as rocks, then actions were probably made as countless windows were broken
But, unfortunately, birds aren’t tomatoes nor rocks so they’ve been dying silently. That’s been being uncovered recently. The truth has been revealed recently.
Birds that were facing death silently in the rapidly changing environment
Is there a way to stop this tragedy?
Expert: Initially we put up stickers of eagles and birds, and even flowers, but they weren’t effective.
So, this time taking the expert’s consultation into account prepared something more effective
Sticking on tapes at regular intervals outside the windows
Store owner nearby: Are you guys providing these? Producer: Yes
Store owner nearby: Wow… awesome…
Expert: Birds, have a better vision than we think
So, while flying at speed, if the gap isn’t bigger than 5X10 or if it’s critically small, then the birds don’t fly in that direction but turns
Hoping these little dots would become a guide to the birds to the path of life…
A week later
Perhaps it was effective, seeing it’s cleared off without anything on the ground..?
Visited the chicken diner’s owner in haste
Producer: How were the birds within the last week?
Husband: Surprisingly, they haven’t fallen down! It’s so fortunate~
So I thought it was good to make the report~ I was thinking we need to be more cautious and aware
Hope there won’t be any more tragic deaths… and hope the efforts to coinhabit with them will continue.