Baby gorilla found in plane cargo recovering at Turkish zoo

A young gorilla rescued from the cargo hold of the plane is recovering in Istanbul Zooofficials said Sunday, as wildlife officials consider returning it to its natural habitat.

A five-month-old gorilla was found in a box on a Turkish Airlines flight from Nigeria to Thailand last month. After a public competition, he was named Zeytin or Maslina, and he is recovering in the Polonezkoy zoo.

“Of course, what we want and want 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 an absolutely safe environment is established at the destination, which is extremely important for us.

Zeytin, a 5-month-old male gorilla cub who was rescued at Istanbul Airport, drinks milk in a specially made area at the zoo in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

In the weeks since he was found, Zeytin has put on weight and is showing signs of recovery from the 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 anymore. He doesn’t even care about us much. He plays games by himself.”

Both species of gorillas – 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 appears as the main one air hub between continents, customs officials 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.