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    HomeNewsBaby gorilla found at airport recovers, even gains weight in Istanbul

    Baby gorilla found at airport recovers, even gains weight in Istanbul

    A 5-month-old gorilla was rescued from the cargo hold of a plane and is now recovering at a zoo in Istanbul as wildlife officials consider returning it to its natural habitat. The gorilla was found last month in a crate on a Turkish Airlines flight from Nigeria to Thailand, CBS News reported in January. After a public competition, he was named Zeytin, which means olive, and is recovering.

    Zeytin Gains Weight

    Weeks after being found at the airport, Zeytin has gained weight and is showing signs of recovery from his traumatic journey.

    “When he first came, he was very shy, he would stay where we left him,” said veterinarian Gulfem Esmen. “Now he doesn’t have that shyness. He doesn’t even care much about us. He plays games by himself.”

    Of course, what we want and desire is for the baby gorilla … to continue his life in his homeland,” Fahrettin Oulu, Istanbul’s regional director for nature conservation and national parks, said on Sunday.

    “The important thing is that an absolutely safe environment is created wherever he goes,” he added.

    Illegal trade appears to pass through Istanbul

    As Istanbul becomes a major air hub between continents, customs officials are increasingly catching 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.

    Illustrative Photo by Andrea Acanfora: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-an-infant-gorilla-7268737/

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    First published in this link of The European Times.

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