SERBIA — Feliks, a year-old eastern imperial eagle from Serbia, returned to Serbia on June 22, 2026, aboard a military transport plane. The Serbian army assisted in Feliks' return through troops serving in a U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.

Feliks is currently in a zoo in northern Serbia and must be quarantined for 21 days. Experts from the Bird Protection and Study Society of Serbia say the eagle will receive a new transmitter before being released.

Feliks was ringed and equipped with a transmitter before setting off on his migratory flight in August 2025. He flew across North Macedonia, Greece, and Turkey before his tracking signal was lost in Syria in late October 2025. Poachers in Syria capture migratory birds by placing water in the desert, shooting at them, capturing them with nets, or chasing them with motorcycles.

Michel Sawan, head of the Lebanese Association for Migratory Birds, retrieved Feliks through a network of associates after the eagle was sold to a buyer in Lebanon and then resold back into Syria. Feliks was carried over the Nahr al-Kabir river on the northern border between Syria and Lebanon by a group of refugees. Returning Feliks to Serbia was impeded by fighting in the region and bad weather.

Why It Matters

The eastern imperial eagle is a protected species in Serbia. The population in Serbia was reduced to a single breeding pair in 2017. Volunteers organized a 24-hour watch of that remaining nesting pair. Since then, the population has recovered to 29 breeding couples, partly due to a European Union-backed project. The Bird Protection and Study Society of Serbia has also planted trees and set up bird platforms in northern Serbia over the past decade. Dangers to eastern imperial eagles in Serbia include accidental poisoning and electrical cables. Eastern imperial eagles have a wingspan of up to 2 meters (6 feet).