Turkey: baby Gorilla rescued from plane set to return to Nigeria

A young gorilla rescued from a plane’s cargo hold is adapting well and efforts to return him to his natural habitat are underway, officials say.

Zeytin, or Olive as he’s been called, was just five months old when he was discovered by officials squashed into a box in the hold of a Turkish Airlines flight from Nigeria to Thailand.

In the months since he was found, he has been recuperating at Istanbul’s Polonezkoy Zoo Park in a “safe, isolated, and sterile environment.”

The Directorate General of Nature Conservation and National Parks says he has gained weight and bonded with his caretakers.

Now, authorities have begun the process of repatriating Zeytin to Nigeria.

But they are seeking assurances that he will not be subject to illegal trade again and will be placed in a gorilla-only environment with appropriate climatic conditions.

Both western and eastern gorillas, which populate central Africa’s remote forests and mountains, are classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

As Istanbul emerges as a major air hub between continents, customs officials have increasingly intercepted illegally traded animals.