Rescued Baby Gorilla Zeytin to Remain in Turkey, Not Repatriated to Nigeria

In a surprising turn of events, a baby gorilla named Zeytin, who was rescued from trafficking at Istanbul airport in 2025, will not be repatriated to Nigeria as initially planned. Zeytin, who was just five months old when he was discovered inside a wooden crate on a Turkish Airlines flight from Nigeria to Thailand, has been cared for at a zoo near Istanbul since his rescue.

Turkish officials had begun the process of sending Zeytin back to Nigeria, where his journey began, in line with regulations under the CITES treaty. However, a DNA test using whole genome sequencing has revealed that Zeytin is a Western lowland gorilla, a critically endangered subspecies native to the rain forests of central Africa. This scientific evidence showed that Nigeria was not Zeytin's country of origin, necessitating a re-evaluation of his conservation status.

As a result, the Turkish authorities have decided to keep Zeytin in a zoo in Turkey, rather than send him back to Nigeria. Zeytin, who has been nursed back to health and has grown significantly since his rescue, will now remain in his new home, where he can be properly cared for and protected as a member of a threatened species.