Stork 'Yaren' reunites with fisherman friend for 14th year in northwestern Türkiye
BURSA, TÜRKİYE - MAR. 15: The famous stork "Yaren" has returned for the 14th consecutive year to the lakeside village of Eskikaragac in Bursa, Türkiye, reuniting with fisherman Adem Yilmaz on Saturday, March 15.
Speaking to Anadolu, Yilmaz shared his anticipation: “From March 1 to 5, I was happy, waiting for him to come. After the 5th, when he didn't arrive, I started to worry. But thank God, today our stork Yaren finally returned.”
Yaren's mate arrived a few days earlier, reuniting with him. “It's a happy ending. We'll be together for six months. Every morning, we go fishing together, then I feed them. After that, I fish on my own while they return to their nest. This is how we spend our summer," Yilmaz explained.
Villager Irfan remarked, "We don’t see him as a stork anymore; we see him as one of us. The emotional bond has grown so strong."
Yilmaz has long made a living fishing from his boat on Lake Uluabat, where Yaren first became a regular visitor. Yilmaz named him "Yaren," meaning "close friend" in Turkish. Fans can watch Yaren 24/7 through live-streaming cameras on yarenleylek.com.
Eskikaragac, known as “the village of storks,” joined the European Stork Villages Network in 2011. EuroNatur, a German-based conservation group, added it to the network to encourage the protection of the white stork and the biodiversity of Lake Uluabat.
(Footage by Alper Tuydes, Sergen Sezgin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)