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Baby tiger found at airport hidden in suitcase
by Joseph Ernest August 27, 2010
Newscast Media BANGKOK --A baby tiger cub that had been drugged and hidden in a suitcase of a woman flying from Thailand to Iran, was discovered by authorities at Bangkok's international airport, an official and a wildlife protection group reported Friday.
The woman, a Thai national, had checked in for her flight and her overweight bag was sent for an X-ray which showed what appeared to be a live animal inside, according to TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring group.
The woman was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport before boarding her Sunday flight. The cub, estimated to be about 3 months old, was sent to a wildlife conservation center in Bangkok.
"The cub arrived at our unit Monday," said Chaiyaporn Chareesaeng, head of the Wildlife Health Unit at the Department of National Parks' Wildlife and Plant Conservation Center, where the animal was put under close supervision.
"He appeared exhausted, dehydrated and couldn't walk, so we had to give him oxygen, water and lactation," said Chaiyaporn. "We have monitored him closely. As of today, he looks better and can walk a little now."
The cub could have fetched about 100,000 baht ($3,200) on the black market in Iran, where it is popular to have exotic pets.
Wildlife experts say the number of tigers in Asia have plummeted over the years due mainly to habitat loss and poachers who sell their skins and body parts to booming medicinal and souvenir markets, mostly in China.
Conservationists say the government needs to do more to eliminate trafficking networks that operate out of the country.
"We applaud all agencies that came together to uncover this brazen smuggling attempt," Chris R. Shepherd, TRAFFIC's deputy regional director for Southeast Asia, said in a statement. Add Comments>>
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