The gorilla has since doubled in weight and is set to be repatriated.
A baby gorilla rescued from traffickers at Istanbul airport last December is set to be returned to Nigeria, Turkish officials confirmed.
The gorilla, named Zeytin, was discovered at just five months old in a wooden crate on a Turkish Airlines flight bound for Thailand. “He was terrified: you could see it in his eyes,” said Fahrettin Ulu of Istanbul’s Nature Conservation and National Parks directorate.
Since then, Zeytin has been nursed back to health at Polonezkoy Zoo, where his weight has increased from 9.4 to 16 kilograms. Officials said his repatriation is being arranged under CITES rules in collaboration with Nigerian authorities.
UK-based TRAFFIC noted that gorilla infants are increasingly targeted by criminal networks because they are easier to smuggle. Zeytin will be temporarily cared for by the Pandrillus Foundation in Nigeria, where he is expected to join another rescued young gorilla.