A young gorilla rescued from the cargo hold of a plane is recovering Istanbul Zooofficials said Sunday, as conservationists consider returning it to its natural habitat.
The five-month-old gorilla was discovered in a crate on a Turkish Airlines flight from Nigeria to Thailand last month. After a public competition, he was named Zeytin, or Olive, and is recovering at the Polonezkoy Zoo.
“What we naturally want and desire is for the baby gorilla to continue its life in its homeland,” Fahrettin Ulu, regional director of Istanbul Nature Conservation and National Parks, said on Sunday.
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“What is important is that it creates an absolutely safe environment where it is going, which is extremely important to us.”
Zeytin, a 5-month-old male gorilla baby who was rescued at Istanbul airport, drinks milk in a specially designated section of a zoo in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, January 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
In the weeks since he was found, Zeytin has gained weight and is showing signs of recovery from his traumatic journey.
“When he first came, he was very shy, he stayed where we left him,” says veterinarian Gulfem Esmen. ‘He no longer has that shyness. He doesn’t even care about us that much. He’s just playing games.’
Both gorilla species – the western and eastern gorillas, which inhabit the remote forests and mountains of central Africa – are classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
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While Istanbul emerges as a major air hub between continents, customs officials have increasingly intercepted illegally traded animals. In October, 17 young Nile crocodiles and 10 monitor lizards were found in the luggage of an Egyptian passenger at the city’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport.
