Feliks, an Eastern imperial eagle which flew from Serbia across North Macedonia, Greece, Turkey and Syria, where he fell victim to traffickers, looks out from a cage at Palic Zoo after returning in Serbia, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
BELGRADE, Serbia — Feliks’ journey resembles a Hollywood movie script, with kidnappers, smugglers and clandestine border crossings.
The year-old eastern imperial eagle from Serbia, started flying in August and later set off on his first migratory flight toward the Middle East, only to be captured by poachers, sold illegally and retrieved in a daring cross-border mission.
While Feliks returned home safely last week, his ordeal highlighted both the widespread practice of profit-driven, illegal animal trade and an unfaltering struggle by animal protection groups to counter it.
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