Stork Bird Visits Fisherman Friend in Turkey's Bursa Province for the 13th Consecutive Year

A stork bird is making headlines recently after visiting a fisherman in Turkey's Bursa province for the 13^th consecutive year. The long friendship between the Turkish man and the stork named "Yaren" shows that even wild animals can remember humans, even from afar. Recent reports this week said that Yaren the stork migrated earlier this year and landed on the fisherman's boat as of Thursday, February 29. Last year, the bird arrived on March 17.

This is not the first time that a bond formed between a human and an animal. In previous decades, related stories have been reported from South America to East Asia. Certain persons between these regions seemed to have developed an unbreakable friendship with their furry or scaly companions in unexpected ways. These stories involve lone animals that travel long distances consistently just to be with their human friends.

Stork Visits Turkish Man

Yaren settles in her nest in the village of Eskikaraagac in northwest Turkey every spring, a time when she comes back from migration. During her visit, the stork spends time with the fisherman named Adem Yilmaz while navigating through the waters of Uluabat Lake while on a boat, local sources reported. Below is a photo showing the unusual duo of Yaren and Adem uploaded on the platform X (formerly Twitter).

During the span of their remarkable bond, the relationship between the bird and the Turkish man gained international fame since more than a decade ago, especially after their photo on the lake was taken. Their story also drew inspiration as a performance in a shadow place in Greece. It also became a popular subject of textbooks in Austria and Germany, according to local Greek media. Furthermore, a documentary entitled "Yaren" also came out in 2019.

Long Distance Animal Visitors

Some animal visitors, as mentioned earlier, come back to a familiar human face, even at great distances and between long periods. Related cases started as either a chance encounter or a person rescuing an animal, with the latter showing gratitude. Below are some stories worth mentioning as related record-breaking visits of Yaren to Adem.

In Brazil, a Magellanic penguin named "Dindim" visits a man who lives in Proveta Beach in Ilha Grande every year. Scientists believe that the penguin is showing its loyalty to the man, who rescued the animal that was covered in oil and on the brink of death back in 2011. However, there have been no official reports that Dindim the penguin is still visiting its friend in Brazil as of 2024.

In Japan, a man named Hiroyuki Arakawa also made an unusual friendship with a fish for 25 years. Arakawa, a local diver, met Yoriko the fish, an Asian sheepshead wrasse almost three decades ago when Araka was monitoring the construction of an underwater Shinto temple gate in Japan's Tateyama Bay.