EDIRNE, Turkey (AP) — An unusual friendship between a Turkish man and a swan he rescued has endured for decades. Retired postman Recep Mirzan met Garip, a female swan, 37 years ago in Turkey’s western Edirne province when he found her with a broken wing. Mirzan immediately took the swan in to protect her from predators, and kept her in the car until that afternoon, when he was able to take the swan to his home. She now lives on his farm. Garip follows the 63-year-old whenever she is out of her pen, accompanying him when he is doing his chores around the farm or for his evening walks.
