A young gorilla rescued from a plane’s cargo hold is recovering at an Istanbul zoo, officials said Sunday, while wildlife officers consider returning him to his natural habitat.

Last month, a juvenile gorilla was found onboard a Turkish Airlines flight from Nigeria to Thailand. Officials believe the gorilla was being trafficked for the illegal wildlife trade, finding the 5-month-old ape in a box within the plane’s cargo hold at Istanbul Airport.

Passengers on multiple flights reported bedbugs crawling on the seats and falling from the ceiling, according to a report.

Passengers on several of the carrier’s flights said the biting pests were on seats, blankets and in overhead bins and that the airline did not take action.

Turkish Airlines halted Israel operations with the outbreak of the war in October 2023. Even so the airline has decided to save its flight slots at Ben Gurion airport. In the aviation industry, slots - reserved times for takeoffs and landings at airports - are an expensive and valuable resource - and one of an airline's most important assets.

A Turkish Airlines flight, TK 630, operated by a Boeing 737 MAX 8, bound from Accra to Istanbul on Saturday, January 11, returned to Kotoka International Airport approximately two and a half hours after takeoff.