A rare eastern imperial eagle has been rescued from animal traffickers and released back into the wild in Serbia after months in captivity.

After leaving the nest last year, Feliks was caught in Syria by poachers who eventually demanded a ransom – which was refused.

After protracted talks the bird was taken to a wildlife centre in Beirut, Lebanon, where he recuperated for more than half a year before his repatriation on a Serbian military plane.

The protected species is critically endangered, but conservation work since 2017 has brought the population in Serbia from one pair up to 29 pairs this year, according to the Bird Protection and Study Society of Serbia (BPSSS).

In July 2025, just as the young raptor first flew the nest, experts tracked him for conservation purposes as he flew towards the Middle East.

“At that point, we started to worry because we could see that he was heading towards an extremely unsafe region,” Uros Stojiljkovic of the BPSSS told the AFP news agency.

When the bird’s tracking signal was lost in October, initially it was thought the tracker was faulty.

But it soon became clear Feliks had been abducted and eventually was put up for sale by poachers.

Weeks passed before a partner organisation in Lebanon contacted the Serbian conservationist and said Feliks’ unnamed captors had demanded a ransom.

“We categorically refused. By doing so, you are effectively supporting that smuggling chain,” Stojiljkovic told AFP.

Lengthy negotiations secured the bird’s release, but not before refugees carried Feliks in a potato sack over the Nahr al-Kabir river on the northern border between Syria and Lebanon, the Associated Press reported.

In June this year, Serbian peacekeepers returning from Lebanon escorted the bird to Palic Zoo.

Feliks arrived at the zoo’s shelter “exhausted, after a long and demanding transport by military plane”, zoo director Sonja Mandić said in a statement, and his health was monitored daily.

After more than a month of careful recovery, Feliks was released into the wild on Thursday.

“We wish Feliks to get stronger as soon as possible, survive all the adversities, conquer his territory and leave descendants,” said Milan Ružić, executive director of the BPSSS.