Turkish Cargo moves endangered vulture to Serbia

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish Cargo, a division of national flag-carrier Turkish Airlines, carried an endangered griffon vulture to Serbia from Turkey, the company said Wednesday.

The 1.5-year-old rare griffon vulture, Dobrila, was found exhausted in Turkey's southern Sanliurfa province after flying 1,600 kilometers on its seasonal migration route started from Serbia.

The griffon vulture is the last chain of the ecological system and lives in the Uvac canyon of Serbia only in Europe, the statement said.

Dobrila was taken the Wild Life Restructuring Center in Sanliurfa to be cured and reach its ideal weight.

"When it was noticed that Dobrila, a member of the fowler family, couldn't continue flying, the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry established contact with the Serbian authorities using the tag and tracking number, available in its foot," it said.

Turkish and Serbian authorities decided to send Dobrila to the Biological Research Institute (Siniša Stanković) in Belgrade.

Turkish Cargo, acting with its vision of 'MissionRescue', previously transported four lions from Ukraine, which were struggling with hunger and suffering, to their natural habitat in Johannesburg.

The company serves customers in 124 countries.

Turkish Cargo complies to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Live Animals Regulations and The Convention on International Trade In Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora(CITES) in accepting, carrying and shipping animals.