Serbian eagle Feliks released after smuggling rescue

Feliks, a rare eastern imperial eagle, was released back into the wild in Serbia this week after being recovered from bird smugglers and returned from Lebanon, Serbia's Bird Protection and Study Society said Friday.

The young raptor left the nest in July 2025. Uros Stojiljkovic of the society said experts tracking him became alarmed when he flew toward the Middle East and his signal disappeared in late October, with his last recorded location in Syria.

Stojiljkovic said the bird's captors, contacted through a partner organisation in Lebanon, demanded a ransom, which the Serbian conservationists refused to pay. After negotiations, Feliks was handed to a wildlife centre in Beirut, where he stayed for six months while his return was arranged.

Serbian troops returning from a peacekeeping mission in Lebanon flew Feliks home in June on a military plane. He recovered at Palic Zoo before being released.

Stojiljkovic said eastern imperial eagles are critically endangered and strictly protected in Serbia. He said Serbia had as little as one breeding pair in 2017, while conservationists monitored 29 pairs in 2026. Four chicks were born this year and named Jelena, Princ, Atila and Michel, with Michel named for Lebanese rescuer Michel Sawan.