Fitted with a satellite transmitter, a small vulture named Midas recently returned to his initial point of departure – Türkiye's central Eskişehir province, after flying 32,000 kilometers (19,884 miles) and covering nine countries in a year.
The vulture was caught as a result of the work carried out as part of the "Small Vulture Conservation Project" conducted by the Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality Zoo Directorate and the KuzeyDoğa Association.
Midas is an Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus), which is listed among the species at risk of extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. He was released to his natural environment on April 23, 2022, after being ringed and fitted with a satellite transmitter.
The vulture spent about five months around Eskişehir and started migrating to the south in September as the weather grew cooler.
Midas passed through Iskenderun on Sept. 17, 2022, and then Syria, Jordan, Israel and Egypt.
During his journey to Egypt, he passed through the Suez Canal and reached Libya and then Chad in five days.
Entering Chad on Sept. 26, he fed there until Nov. 3 and then moved on to Sudan.
After his seven-day journey, Midas settled in the city of Kaduqli, the capital of South Kordofan State.
The vulture, which lived in areas close to settlements in Sudan during the winter months, then crossed into South Sudan and roamed settlement and steppe areas of Unity State.
After staying there for about 5.5 months, Midas began his return journey.
When Midas crossed the Jordan and Egyptian deserts and reached the Suez Canal, he reconnected to the route he migrates from and passed through almost the same places and entered Türkiye from Iskenderun on April 3 this year.
Midas, who came to Türkiye to spend the summer, completed his migration journey by settling in Eskişehir, the point where he was ringed, after a three-day journey.
During this journey, Midas made his highest altitude flight at 7,436 meters while passing between Mersin and Adana provinces.
Midas' fastest flight was recorded at 126 kph (78 mph).
It covered the longest nonstop flight distance between Türkiye and Syria with 117 kilometers.
