Photograph courtesy TRAFFIC
The cat's out of the bag—at least for a woman caught smuggling a live, two-month-old, drugged tiger cub in a suitcase full of toys (pictured) at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport on Sunday.
The 31-year-old Thai national, whose identity has not been revealed by Thai authorities, was scheduled to board a Mahan Air flight to Iran. But when she was seen struggling with a large bag at check-in, airport officials decided to x-ray her luggage.
The x-rays revealed the tranquilized tiger cub among stuffed-tiger toys, according to a statement released Thursday by TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring network. (Related video: "Tiger Trade Slashes Big Cats' Numbers.")
Officials are investigating whether the cub was wild caught or captive-bred, as well as where the woman intended to bring the tiger.
All Asian tigers are listed as endangered or worse by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), mostly due to the illegal trade in tiger parts. (Read about how to save tigers with National Geographic's Big Cats Initiative.)
Published August 26, 2010
Photograph by Sakchai Lalit, AP
Thai veterinarian Phimchanok Srongmongkul nurses a tiger cub at the Wildlife Health Unit at the Department of National Parks in Bangkok on August 27.
"He was very calm, half asleep and half awake, when we rescued him," an official with Thailand's Wild Fauna and Flora Protection Division told the Bangkok Post.
The smuggler—who admitted carrying the cub—could face four years in prison, a $1,280 fine, or both for possessing and smuggling an endangered animal, officials told the Post.
Published August 26, 2010
Photograph courtesy TRAFFIC
Though authorities should be applauded for spotting the live tiger cub (pictured) in luggage, the case demonstrated a real need for tougher action on tiger smuggling, according to Chris R. Shepherd, Southeast Asia deputy regional director for TRAFFIC.
"If people are trying to smuggle live tigers in their check-in luggage, they obviously think wildlife smuggling is something easy to get away with and do not fear reprimand," Shepherd said in a statement. (See related photo: "Smuggler Caught With 14 Birds in Pants.")
"Only sustained pressure on wildlife traffickers and serious penalties can change that."
(See also: "Black Market Tigers Linked to Thai Temple, Report Says.")
Published August 26, 2010
Photograph by Sakchai Lalit, AP
With wildlife trade on the rise, officials at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport who rescued the live tiger cub (pictured) had just gone through a training course on how to spot smugglers, which was sponsored by the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network, partly funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
While no one knows exactly how large the illegal wildlife trade is, it may well be the world's most profitable form of illegal trade, according to National Geographic magazine. (See pictures of Asia's wildlife trade.)
Wildlife smugglers evade detection by hiding illegal wildlife in legal shipments, according to the magazine. They also bribe wildlife and customs officials, and they alter trade documents. (See a graphic of other species sought in Asia's illegal wildlife trade.)
Few wildlife smugglers are ever caught, and penalties are usually no more severe than a parking ticket, the magazine reported.
(The National Geographic Society owns National Geographic magazine and National Geographic News.)
Published August 26, 2010
Photograph courtesy TRAFFIC
All tiger subspecies are listed under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), an international agreement that prohibits international commercial trade in the big cats (pictured, a live tiger cub found Sunday at a Bangkok airport).
The agreement encompasses both wild-caught and captive tigers, including animals raised on so-called tiger farms. (See tiger pictures.)
Even so, some tourist attractions—such as the Xiongsen Bear and Tiger Park in Guillin, China—secretly operate as fronts for illegal tiger farming, butchering captive tigers for their parts, National Geographic magazine reported earlier this year. (See pictures: "Tigers Butchered for Trade at 'Zoos' in China?")
Published August 26, 2010
Photograph courtesy TRAFFIC
There should be a happy ending for the smuggled tiger cub (pictured), which is being cared for at Thailand's Rescue Center of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation, according to TRAFFIC.
DNA samples will determine the baby tiger's subspecies—such as Bengal, Sumatran, or Siberian—which will help authorities figure out where the cub came from.
Published August 26, 2010
Personally I think that if you really want to help the baby tiger, the best thing you could do for it is get the smuggler to show you where it was taken from and return the cub to its mother. Can you imagine someone coming by one day and just up and taking your baby away from you?
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