EDIRNE, Turkey (AP) – An unusual friendship between a Turk and a swan that he rescued has endured for decades.
Retired postman Recep Mirzan found Garip, a female swan, 37 years ago in the western province of Edirne.
Mirzan and a group of friends were taking a shortcut in the car when they noticed the swan, with its broken wing, 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 she is out of the pen, accompanying him when he is doing his chores on the farm or on his night walks.
“As I love animals, I told myself that I should take her home, instead of leaving her as prey for foxes,” Mirzan told the Associated Press, telling of the day he welcomed Garip. “We got used to it. We never parted. ”
Mirzan called the swan “Garip”, which translates to “bizarre”, but is also used to describe those who are out of luck.
After Garip’s broken wing healed, the swan stayed with Mirzan and also befriended the area’s cats and dogs.
Garip spends most of his time outside the pen and never tried to escape from Mirzan’s farm.
A childless widower, Mirzan, 63, says that Garip was loyal to him and decided to stay by his side. Mirzan considers the swan his son.
Living with Mirzan was obviously beneficial to Garip. According to the UK-based Swan Sanctuary, the average life of a swan in the wild is 12 years. He says that, in protected environments, they can live up to 30 years.
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Badendieck reported from Istanbul.