Customs officials in Istanbul discovered and rescued a 5-month-old critically endangered western lowland baby gorilla from the cargo hold of a Turkish Airlines flight bound for Bangkok, Thailand, in what is being deemed as a smuggling operation to get the furry wildlife animal from Nigeria through Turkey to the black market in Asia.

The tiny primate was discovered by customs officials in the plane’s cargo hold during customs checks. The small wooden box containing the baby gorilla was barely big enough for his small body, as officials opened the lid behind the scenes, revealing the wide-eyed primate donned in a white t-shirt staring back at them.

Once discovered, the small

baby gorilla
was handed over to Turkey’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry for care and recovery.

Baby Gorilla Now Recovering at Istanbul Zoo After Harrowing Ordeal

Conservationists and veterinarians at Polonezkoy Zoo in Istanbul immediately transported the young gorilla back to their facilities to recover from his harrowing ordeal.

“When he first came, he was very shy, he would stay where we left him,” said veterinarian, Gulfem Esmen. “He doesn’t have that shyness now. He doesn’t even care about us much. He plays games by himself.”

Soon after, wildlife officials at the zoo launched a competition on social media in search of a name for the tiny primate. The winning name: Zeytin.

Since his rescue, Zeytin has grown by 4 centimeters and put on weight, according to conservationists and veterinarians, while his sense of humor and innocent, yet joyful disposition keep everyone smiling at the Istanbul zoo. Once he’s fully recovered, zoo officials hope to release him back into his natural habitat.

“Of course, what we want and desire is for the baby gorilla … to continue its life in its homeland,” Fahrettin Ulu, regional director of Istanbul Nature Conservation and National Parks, said Sunday.

“What is important is that an absolutely safe environment is established in the place it goes to, which is extremely important for us.”

Turkish Airlines
has indicated that they are cooperating with authorities to investigate who smuggled the baby gorilla on the flight to Nigeria.

“We take the highest level of care in adhering to national and international regulations in our legal animal transportation operations,” Yahya Üstün, senior vice president of media relations at Turkish Airlines, told USA TODAY in a statement. “Turkish Airlines supports the goal of responsible transportation to prevent illegal wildlife trade and operates with the awareness that the responsibility for preserving the ecosystem is universal across all our destinations.”

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West Lowland Gorillas Are a Critically Endangered Species With Less Than 40% Of Their Species in Existence Around the World

All too often, customs officials in Istanbul have put a stop to the illegal trading of wildlife animals, seizing many of them from the plane’s cargo holds, most without permits to transport the animals legally.

Fortunately, in this instance, the swift actions of officials at the Istanbul airport ceased the illegal smuggling and trade of a critically endangered species: the west lowland gorilla.

According to WWF, the primate species’ population has decreased by 60 percent in the last 20 to 25 years. Illegal poaching, loss of habitat, diseases such as Ebola, and illegal trading have significantly reduced the species’ numbers dramatically, and should all of these threats disappear, conservationists indicate that it would take approximately 75 years to restore the species to its full glory.

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