EDIRNE, Turkey (AP) – An unusual friendship between a Turk and a swan he saved has lasted for decades.
Retired postman Recep Mirzan found Garip, a swan, 37 years ago in the western Turkish province of Edirne.
Mirzan and a group of friends were taking a shortcut in the car when they noticed the swan, with its wing broken, in an empty field. Mirzan immediately took the swan to protect it from predators and kept it in the car until that afternoon, when he was able to take the swan home.
Since then, Garip has lived on the man’s farm in the Karaagac region, on the border with Greece.
Garip follows Mirzan whenever he gets out of the pen, accompanying him when he does his chores around the farm or for his evening walks.
“Since I love animals, I thought I should take her home instead of leaving her as fox prey,” Mirzan told the Associated Press, telling the day he took Garip. “We got used to each other. We never parted. ”
Mirzan called the swan “Garip”, which translates to “bizarre”, but it is also used to describe those who lose their luck.
After Garip’s broken wing healed, the swan stayed with Mirzan and befriended the cats and dogs in the area.
Garip spends most of his time in the pen and has never tried to run away from Mirzan’s farm.
A childless widower, Mirzan, 63, says Garip was loyal to him and chose to stay with him. Mirzan considers the swan his child.
Living with Mirzan was obviously beneficial for Garip. According to the Swan Sanctuary in the UK, the average lifespan of a swan in the wild is 12 years. It is said that in protected environments, they can live up to 30 years.
__
Badendieck reported from Istanbul.