A young gorilla rescued from a plane’s cargo hold is recovering at an Istanbul zoo, officials said Sunday, while wildlife officers consider returning him to his natural habitat.
The 5-month-old gorilla was discovered in a box on a Turkish Airlines flight from Nigeria to Thailand last month as it transited through Istanbul. After a public competition, he has been named Zeytin, or Olive, and is recuperating at Polonezkoy Zoo.
In the weeks since he was found, Zeytin has gained weight and is showing signs of recovering from his traumatic journey.
“When he first came, he was very shy, he would stay where we left him,” said veterinarian Gulfem Esmen. “He doesn’t have that shyness now. He doesn’t even care about us much. He plays games by himself.”
If it’s a baby from Nigeria, it’s from a very small group on the border with Cameroon, one of the rarest gorilla subspecies there is. Returning it would be putting it back into possible poaching. Poachers likely killed its parents to get the baby.