Environmental Peshmerga battalion returns young Bezoar ibex to nature

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A young Bezoar ibex was returned to its natural habitat after two years of being raised by a family in the Barzan region of Erbil Province.

The Bezoar ibex was cared for by a seventeen-year-old girl named Helam Diler. She recently said her last goodbyes to her friend.

“The kid [ibex] has been with me for two and a half years. We fed him with a baby bottle. Now it eats grass. I haven’t named it yet. I don’t want it to be taken back to nature, but I think it's better to return back to its native environment,” Diler told Kurdistan 24.

Diler Hussein, Helam's father, revealed that it was difficult to convince his daughter to return the young Bezoar ibex to nature.

“We have done what we thought was our responsibility," Hussein said.

The family handed over the goat to the Mergasor Environmental Battalion, which then released it into the wild. 

Moreover, Hassan Hali, commander of the battalion, told Kurdistan 24 that this specific ibex was one of two Bezoar babies caught from hunters, and unfortunately, the other baby died.

The commander added that his battalion does its best in fending off hunters targeting the wild goats.  

Additional reporting by Kurdistan 24 Erbil reporter Tayfur mohammed