12 Years of Friendship Between A Human and A Stork
A unique friendship story convinces us that love is not about words, beyond languages
Yaren is a normal stork, but definitely not ordinary. A special one, which has gained recognition around the world because of the real friendship he established with a human.
And Adem is a man, but a truly good one. Good enough to form a compassionate relationship with a stork, even to feel him as his son. These two have written a heart warming and deeply moving friendship story.
Adem is a fisherman who has retired from his 25-year job in a factory and returned to Eskikaraağaç, his home village in Bursa, Turkey. The village is near a very beautiful lake, which has been home to many bird species as well as storks.
He says, “Lakes fascinate me. I adore water and would not live anywhere else, but I prefer lakes to the sea.”
Because of the abundance of food — various insects, but primarily fish — many birds prefer to stay in Eskikaraaaç, and the villagers are accustomed to having birds in the village.
On an ordinary day in March 2010, while Adem was fishing alone as usual, suddenly a stork landed on the boat. Since Eskikaraağaç has been a stork village since its existence, seeing one of them was no strange. The stork looked exhausted. Since March was a period when storks, a migratory bird, were returning to the Northern Hemisphere from the hot climate of the South (probably from Africa), the stork was tired from the long haul. Adem offered the stork some of the fish he caught, which he eagerly accepted. Thus began their friendship.
“He was so frail when he first came to my boat. He’d just arrived from the south, clearly exhausted. But I fed him every day, and he gained weight and improved within a week,” he says.
Following their first encounter in 2010, the stork visited Adem’s boat nearly every day of the summer for the next years. Adem fed him fish, and he became friends with Adem. The stork had such trust in him that he brought his partner, and Adem fed the two of them together.
The friendship between the two first became famous in the village. The villagers named the stork “Yaren”, which means “companion” in Turkish, because of the friendship he established with Adem.
Then, with the story shared by nature photographer Alper Tüydeş on Twitter, Yaren became known in Turkey and was even seen on the evening news. In fact, this story became so well-known that every springtime we are all looking forward to the news that Yaren has managed to come to Adem’s boat so that companions can unite once more.
This year, Yaren returned from the southern countries with a delay of ten days, which worried Adem and all their admirers. But getting the news of his arrival made us all feel relieved.
The friendship of Yaren and Adem was recognized around the world and became the subject of a documentary. The documentary “Yaren”, directed by Burak Doğansoysal, won the best documentary award at the Prague Film Festival.
Yaren is now possible to watch his nest live for those who want to constantly observe him and his family. Of course, with a camera system established by the municipality in such a way as not to disturb it.
The duo spend the whole summer together. Adem fishes for 5–10 hours a day, and Yaren accompanies him. He feeds himself and his babies with the fish that Adem catches.
“I used to love birds. But Yaren taught me what true love for animals is. He even taught me not only to love but also to take care of others, which is important,” says Adem.
He loves the village stray cats as well, but after he made friends with Yaren, his appreciation of all the living things changed, and he realized that every living thing has its own life that should be respected.
“Are you sure it’s the same stork?” is the most common question that Adem is asked.
He answers with no doubt: “I would distinguish Yaren even if it were in a herd of storks. Because I feel it, there is a bond of love between us.”
Humans’ ability to communicate with other species is not new.
The number of people living with a cat or dog possibly exceeds half the world’s population. But it is very impressive that a stork, a non-domestic species of bird that we are accustomed to seeing from afar in the sky or on a chimney where it builds a nest while migrating, can establish a close friendship with a human, almost like a relative. It is a proof of how miraculous the results of true love, care, and effort shown to a living thing are.
Their companionship convinces us to believe in goodness. Watching them with hope from afar proves that the world is still a good place.
References:
- The documentary “Yaren”, directed by Burak Doğansoysal
- More Than A Stork: Yaren by Yücel Sönmez in Hürriyet Newspaper
Some brilliant essays from wonderful writers on Medium:
My sensitive and open-hearted dear Medium friend Eko BP
One of the best pens in Medium, Michelle Scorziello
Wise, curious and knowledgable thinker Malky McEwan
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