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Türkiye’s General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks (an agency working under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) said 3,973 rescued wild animals were released back to their natural habitats in the first six months of this year, according to Director General Kadir Cokcetin.
Cokcetin noted that since 2012, teams working through 11 dedicated rehabilitation centers have treated and returned 76,656 wild animals to the wild.
He said in a social media post that the program focuses on stabilizing injured, orphaned, or sick wildlife and getting them strong enough to survive on their own.
“We treat wild animals found weak, injured, or ill, and release those that recover into suitable habitats,” Cokcetin said, adding, “For those that cannot return to the wild, we provide lifelong care.”
He emphasized that the approach not onlyprotects biodiversitybut also helps wildlife rejoin their natural ecosystems.
Giving a recent example, Cokcetin said that at Soguksu National Park in Ankara, teams released five “kizil sahin” (buzzards), one “kerkenez” (kestrel), and one “puhu” (eagle owl).
These local terms are widely used in Türkiye for common birds of prey, as well as the Eurasian eagle owl.
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