30 gazelles were released to Mount Cudi.

30 Gazelles of the endangered ‘gazella gazella’ species have been released into Mount Cudi.

30 gazelles of the endangered ‘gazella gazella’ species, taken from the Şanlıurfa 75th Year Gazelle Breeding Station, have been released into nature in the Cudi Mountains of Silopi district in Şırnak. Some of the gazelles were fitted with GPS devices and quickly headed towards the mountain as the gates opened.

Şırnak Governor Birol Ekici stated that they are working to increase the gazelle population in the mountains. Governor Ekici noted that the animal population in the region has been disrupted because people do not use nature in a balanced way, saying, “There are both protected animals that we know and unknown animals living in this geography. The region has a very valuable habitat. Many living beings reside in Cudi. We are placing animals in the same geography where our grandfathers lived together 40 years ago. I wish our animals long lives, healthy and prosperous lives.”

Hakan Mumcuoğlu, the 3rd Regional Director of Nature Conservation in Şanlıurfa, stated that they started breeding the Şanlıurfa gazelle, which is on the verge of extinction, with 86 individuals at the Kızılkuyu Breeding Station in Şanlıurfa in 2006. Mumcuoğlu reported that as a result of the efforts, they reached a total of 454 in the breeding station, saying, “With 175 births in the last year, our breeding station has reached a sufficient number, creating a need for relocation. In this area, we are releasing 50 gazelles in 2020, 40 in 2021, and now 30 into the wild. Our villagers have taken care of the gazelles previously released. Our gazelles have adapted and settled into this land. We have fitted GPS devices to 3 of the male gazelles we will release. Our colleagues will monitor them via lines. We will obtain data such as how far these animals travel daily and where they roam, and we will create their maps. Hopefully, this will also be the subject of scientific study. We will use this data in scientific research.”