Storks’ migration interrupted by man-made injuries

ISTANBUL

Due to human-induced factors including collisions with electricity poles and becoming prey for people with guns, storks' migration trips are disrupted throughout the migration period in August and September.

Recently in Istanbul’s Arnavutköy, a migrating stork was shot with a gun by an unidentified person.

Residents of the neighborhood contacted the General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks about the injured stork.

The stork was taken by the teams and delivered to veterinary professionals for treatment.

It was understood that the stork is in a critical condition but might be able to migrate in the next period if it responds well to the treatments.

Meanwhile, many other storks have been reported to stay around the electricity poles in the district, unable to fly their annual migration route.

Speaking to local media, Prof. Dr. Serhat Özsoy, head of Istanbul University’s Department of Wild Animal Diseases and Ecology, warned that most stork injuries during migration periods are related to electricity poles and hunting.

“While migrating, white storks pass through the Bosphorus, the southeastern province of Hatay and then move on to Africa. During this time, storks landing in different places in Istanbul to feed or rest are electrocuted on electricity poles, where most of them get injured or killed. Some of them are also shot by people.”

Stating that they encounter many stork injury cases during this time of the year and they work tirelessly to treat each one of them, Özsoy said that they usually release the storks that maintain their ability to fly after treatment in their next migration period, and look after some of the storks that cannot fly at their clinics.

“Many storks who were shot are delivered to our department, this number sometimes exceeds 100 storks in a year,” the expert remarked, emphasizing the recent threat of soaring individual armament in the country being posed upon both humans’ and animals’ lives.