Urban crow surge fuels blackouts, other accidents

A large murder of crows is perched on power lines and utility equipment in a residential area in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, Jan. 29. Korea Times photo by Choi Joo-yeon

More than 980 households in Busan lost power Sunday after a crow came into contact with electrical equipment, authorities said. The outage left residents without air conditioning for about an hour amid a record-breaking heat wave.

This incident came only a day after another outage affected 986 households in the same city, which authorities also believe was caused by crows coming into contact with power facilities. On July 8, a similar incident also occurred in Seoul’s Mapo District, when a crow touched a high-voltage line on a utility pole, cutting power to 286 households.

In some cases, the consequences are far more serious than a temporary loss of convenience. On June 30, a ready-mix concrete truck driver was severely injured after being electrocuted in Taean, South Chungcheong Province, when a crow’s contact with a utility pole caused a 22,900-volt power line to snap and fall onto his vehicle.

These cases are part of a broader rise in crow-related problems as they become increasingly visible in urban areas, where they can build nests near power lines and forage in residential neighborhoods. They are also blamed for other issues such as noise, droppings and attacks on pedestrians walking near their nests.

The two species most often implicated in urban complaints in Korea are rooks and large-billed crows, though there is no detailed, reliable data on their population sizes or trends.

However, experts say their numbers appear to have surged in urban areas in recent years. The rising number of 119 emergency calls reflects that shift. In Seoul, fire service dispatches linked to crows more than doubled from 49 cases in 2022 to 100 in 2024, according to the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters. That contrasts with only a slight increase in bird-related dispatches overall during the same period.

Choi Yu-seong, a researcher at the state-run National Institute of Biological Resources, said the development of cities has blurred the boundary between urban neighborhoods and the forests and farmlands where crows traditionally lived.

“Large-billed crows were originally dispersed across the country, mainly in forests and rural areas,” Choi told The Korea Times Thursday. “But as cities have expanded, the boundary between urban and forest areas has broken down, with apartment buildings built right next to forests.”

Rooks, meanwhile, are winter migrants that typically feed in farmlands by day and roost in forests at night. Choi said urban encroachment into farmlands and woodlands may have deprived some birds of their traditional roosting sites, forcing them to seek alternatives in cities.

“Crows are highly intelligent and appear to have adapted well to new urban environments,” he said. “Urban areas can offer them places to rest, feed and avoid danger.”

Municipal workers watch a murder of crows perching on power lines in a residential area of Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, Jan. 28. Korea Times photo by Choi Joo-yeon

Both crow species are classified as harmful wildlife, meaning they may be captured when they damage crops or power facilities. But the designation does not permit indiscriminate culling. Anyone seeking to capture the birds must obtain approval from the head of the relevant city, county or district, who is required to assess the damage, the proposed method and whether less harmful measures would be sufficient.

In practice, those requirements make population control difficult. Firearms are generally not a viable option in densely populated neighborhoods because of safety concerns. As a result, authorities often rely on temporary deterrents — like dispersing flocks of crows, also called a murder, near power facilities — rather than capturing or killing the birds.

Experts say, first and foremost, the government needs to establish a reliable data system to determine the size, distribution and movement of crow populations. The data could then guide targeted action in areas where conflicts become severe.

“If monitoring shows that crow-related problems have reached a serious level, authorities need to decide on the most appropriate response, whether that means managing habitats, modifying the affected urban environment or, where necessary, controlling the population,” Choi said.