Recep Mirzan was a postman when he met "Garip" in 1984. The whooper swan was lying on an empty field in a village where Mirzan made deliveries. Nursing her back to health, Mirzan has continued to care for the swan ever since.

Though the animal is fit for flying, she never left Mirzan and now spends her days in the coop next to Mirzan’s house in the northwestern province of Edirne.

"I was in Sarayakpınar village when I saw my beauty," he enthusiastically explained while discussing his first encounter with the swan. "I placed her in the postal vehicle and after my deliveries finished, I took her home," he told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Sunday. The swan’s left wing was injured when he found her, and he fashioned a sling from pieces of wood and rope so it could heal. "She could have flown away but did not. I am 63 years old, and she is probably older than me. She has never left me since 1984. Even when the floods hit here, she did not leave," he said.

The swan barely runs around nowadays due to her age. "I hope we live together for a long time. If she dies before me, I want to build a proper, good grave for her," Mirzan added.

The retired postman, who lost his wife years ago, spends his time looking after chickens and other animals in his courtyard. "Garip," which roughly means "lonely" in Turkish, keeps Mirzan company. She always walks around with Mirzan and together, they go for evening walks.

Whooper swan or cygnus cygnus, known for their elegant body and deep honking calls, can live for 30 to 35 years. Endemic to the Northern Hemisphere, the birds usually migrate to Turkey in winter and head to Northern Europe to mate in the spring.