After nearly seven months of travel across the Middle East, Felix, a Serbian eastern imperial eagle, is finally returning home after being captured by wild bird smugglers in October.
Flying from his native Bačka Topola, Felix crossed North Macedonia and Greece, followed the Turkish coastline, and eventually reached Syria, where he fell victim to traffickers. Fortunately, a partner organization of the Bird Protection and Study Society of Serbia in Lebanon managed to locate him and place him in a rescue shelter.
Dr. Michel Sawwan runs a sanctuary in Zgharta, northern Lebanon, on the slopes of Mount Lebanon, dedicated to protecting injured migratory birds and rescuing birds kidnapped by rare wildlife traffickers.
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“Felix has been here since December of last year. We immediately established contact with the Serbian Embassy and bird and nature protection organizations in Serbia. Unfortunately, we attempted twice to return Felix to Serbia by plane, but both flights were canceled because of the war. Now the time has finally come to send him back to Serbia after more than six months spent in our bird shelter,” said Dr. Michel Sawwan of the Injured Bird Protection Reserve in Zgharta, northern Lebanon.
After months of difficulties and setbacks, thanks to Dr. Sawwan and the Lebanese Society for Migratory Birds, the assistance of the Serbian Embassy in Lebanon, and the Bird Protection and Study Society of Serbia, Felix is finally set to return home tomorrow aboard a military aircraft of the Republic of Serbia.
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Source: RTS Foto: Wikipedia