A Turkish Man's Long Friendship with a Swan
2021-02-12
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1Most people who keep animals choose to have dogs, cats, fishes or small birds.
2But, Recep Mirzan keeps a different animal on his farm in Western Turkey.
3The 63-year-old retired postal worker has a swan, a large and long-lived bird found in many parts of the world.
4Mirzan rescued the swan from a dangerous situation many years ago.
5Mirzan and a group of friends were driving in their car when they saw an injured swan with a broken wing.
6Mirzan immediately took the swan with him to protect her from predators.
7He kept her in the car until that afternoon when he was able to take the swan to his home.
8"Since I love animals, I said to myself that I should take her home instead of leaving her as prey," Mirzan told The Associated Press.
9He named the swan Garip.
10It means "strange" in the Turkish language but is also used to describe a person who has had difficulties in their life.
11After Garip's broken wing improved, she remained with Mirzan.
12Mirzan is not married and has no children, so the swan is like a child to him.
13When Garip is out of her pen, an area that is used to keep her protected, she follows Mirzan wherever he goes.
14Garip has been living on Mirzan's farm in the Karaagac area of Turkey, bordering Greece, for the past 37 years.
15Garip has never tried to run away from Mirzan's farm.
16According to the group Swan Sanctuary, in Britain, swans live in the wild for only about 12 years.
17But in protected environments, they can live up to 30 years.
18I'm Armen Kassabian.
1Most people who keep animals choose to have dogs, cats, fishes or small birds. But, Recep Mirzan keeps a different animal on his farm in Western Turkey. 2The 63-year-old retired postal worker has a swan, a large and long-lived bird found in many parts of the world. 3Mirzan rescued the swan from a dangerous situation many years ago. Mirzan and a group of friends were driving in their car when they saw an injured swan with a broken wing. Mirzan immediately took the swan with him to protect her from predators. He kept her in the car until that afternoon when he was able to take the swan to his home. 4"Since I love animals, I said to myself that I should take her home instead of leaving her as prey," Mirzan told The Associated Press. 5He named the swan Garip. It means "strange" in the Turkish language but is also used to describe a person who has had difficulties in their life. After Garip's broken wing improved, she remained with Mirzan. Mirzan is not married and has no children, so the swan is like a child to him. 6When Garip is out of her pen, an area that is used to keep her protected, she follows Mirzan wherever he goes. Garip has been living on Mirzan's farm in the Karaagac area of Turkey, bordering Greece, for the past 37 years. 7Garip has never tried to run away from Mirzan's farm. 8According to the group Swan Sanctuary, in Britain, swans live in the wild for only about 12 years. But in protected environments, they can live up to 30 years. 9I'm Armen Kassabian. 10Erhin Yildiz and Robert Badendieck from The Associated Press reported this story. Armen Kassabian adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 11________________________________________________________________ 12Words in This Story 13postal - adj. relating to or involved in the sending, handling, and delivery of mail 14predators - n. an animal that lives by killing and eating other animals 15prey - n. an animal that is hunted or killed by another animal for food 16sanctuary - n. a place where someone or something is protected or given shelter 17Have you ever rescued an animal and kept it as a pet? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.