Eagle Free: Serbian Conservationists Rescue and Release Kidnapped Imperial Eagle
A critically endangered eastern imperial eagle was rescued from animal traffickers, rehabilitated in Lebanon, and safely released back into its native habitat in Serbia after months of captivity.
Feliks, the young raptor whose name means “king” in Serbian, slipped from a nest in 2025 and was seized by poachers in Syria. The captors demanded a ransom that Serbia’s conservationists rejected, arguing that any payment would fuel the illegal wildlife trade.
Negotiations stretched dozens of days, but the stake‑holders eventually agreed on a plan to send the eagle to a wildlife centre in Beirut, where veterinarians monitored his health for over six months.
In early June, Serbian peacekeepers escorted Feliks to the Palic Zoo in Belgrade on a military transport plane. The planes’ wings brushed the clouds as the bird’s wings spread wide for the first time since his capture.
After careful rehabilitation in a large enclosure, the eagle’s weight and flight ability were assessed daily. On the 13th of July, zoo staff opened a gate and watched Feliks fly toward the open grasslands of the zoo grounds, his wings slicing the summer sky.
Conservationists plan to monitor the bird for several weeks to ensure that he establishes a territory and begins breeding, a key goal for a species whose population in Serbia grew from a single pair in 2017 to 29 pairs today.
Experts stress the importance of this success in the fight against wildlife trafficking, urging stricter law enforcement and international collaboration to protect endangered birds.
