• Saved from the menu, cute pangolins rescued in Thailand

    Sakchai Lalit / AP

    Two rescued pangolins sit in a basket during a news conference in Bangkok, Thailand, June 7. Thai customs rescued 110 pangolins worth about $35,500 that they say were to be sold outside the country as exotic food. The animals, hidden in a pickup truck, were seized at a customs checkpoint in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, south of Bangkok.

    Sakchai Lalit / AP

    A Thai customs official shows a rescued pangolin during a news conference in Bangkok, Thailand, June 7.

    Freeland Foundation via EPA

    A pangolin peers out of a cage after it was confiscated by Royal Thai Customs authorities in Pranburi, Thailand, June 7. Thai police confiscated a pickup truck with 110 pangolins after a high speed car chase when the truck failed to stop at a customs checkpoint and later crashed after being followed by authorities. The pangolins are alleged to be part of a large illegal wildlife trafficking operation, responsible for thousands of pangolins destined for markets in China and Vietnam, according to Freeland.

    By Phaedra Singelis, NBC News

    The rhino isn't the the only one being hunted to extinction. The wildlife smugglers continue to decimate this already endangered species. Just five days ago 171 more pangolins were rescued in Thailand and a few hours later 155 more were seized. 

    These adorable, shy and defenseless pangolins are hunted for their meat which is regarded as highly nutritious and its scales which are prescribed for ailments ranging from skin diseases to lack of milk in breast-feeding mothers. In China, they believe pangolin can boost sexual prowess. Like the rhino, most of the myths are just that.  

    Sometimes described as the walking pine cone, the species is quickly disappearing. The species, once prevalent, can hardly be found in Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia or Laos any more. Skyrocketing prices and a slow-breeding cycle has made it hard for those trying to save this scaley anteater. Too bad people don't want to keep them as pets instead -  they are a natural pest controller, feasting on termites, ants and other insects.

    More about the pangolin under pressure.

    More about the pangolin species and how you can help from the African Wildlife Foundation and at savepangolins.org

  • Smugglers transport alcohol into Iran

    Reuters

    Members of a smuggling group stand near boxes in a tent as they prepare to move during an alcohol-smuggling operation from Iraq to Iran, at the border near Sulaimaniya, Iraq, on Jan. 26, 2012.

    Reuters

    Border security forces have repeatedly clashed with smugglers who use the remote, rugged landscape to facilitate their operations.

    See pictures of another smuggling route into Iran - across the Strait of Hormuz - in an earlier post on PhotoBlog.

  • Endangered animals seized from smugglers in the Philippines

    Dozens of endangered animals were seized from illegal traders in the Philippines on Wednesday, according to a police official who spoke to EPA. Manila Police intelligence chief Ernesto Fojas said authorities seized 50 talking myna birds, one serpent eagle and 30 Asian box turtles from the accused traders, who were named as Luz Estacio, James Ferolino and Jake Vargas. All three species are considered critically endangered in the Philippines, facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild, according to EPA. 

    Francis R. Malasig / EPA

    Myna birds seized from illegal traders are seen inside a police station in Manila, the Philippines on August 18. Several endangered animal species were seized from three illegal traders in Manila on Wednesday, a police official said.

    Francis R. Malasig / EPA

    Accused trader Luz Estacio sits inside a jail as she looks at a serpent eagle, one of the seized animals, at a police station in Manila on August 18.

    Cheryl Ravelo / Reuters

    An Asian box turtle is tagged by a veterinarian at the Manila zoo on August 18. Police turned over the animals seized from smugglers to the Manila zoo, according to authorities.

    To learn more about the illegal trade in Asian wildlife, watch photographer Patrick Brown's project Black Market.

    Related content on PhotoBlog:

  • Reptile smuggling is no teddy bears' picnic

    A couple from Hong Kong have been arrested for attempting to smuggle reptiles out of Australia by hiding them inside teddy bears.

    The 27-year-old man and 30-year-old woman were detained by customs officials in the city of Perth on Wednesday night.

    A search led to the discovery of 12 bobtail lizards, several soft toys, packaging and postage material, according to a statement released by the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC).

    Western Australian Department of Environment and Conservation

    A Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) officer slits open a teddy bear. A Hong Kong couple have been arrested in Perth, Australia, for attempting to export reptiles concealed inside teddy bears.

    Authorities had been monitoring the pair after they allegedly made several attempts to post teddy bears overseas which contained more than 18 bobtail lizards, sand swimmer skinks and crevice skinks.

    Over the past 12 weeks, a total of six packages in four consignments were intercepted by Customs and Border Protection at Perth Mail center, the statement said.

    Western Australian Department of Environment and Conservation

    One of the bobtail lizards discovered after the arrest of two wildlife smugglers.

    DEC senior wildlife investigator Rick Dawson said bobtail lizards were worth up to 7500 AUD ($8,000) on the Asian black market.

    "While common in Western Australia, these lizards are highly sought after in Asia because they are easy to care for, attractive, and exotic," he said.

    "In some instances the reptiles' eyes had been taped up, and the cold and cramped conditions they would have had to endure on a long journey without food or water in a cargo hold is abhorrent."

    "This joint effort between Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Environment and Conservation demonstrates that we are committed to putting an end to this cruel practice."

    The seized reptiles were due to be assessed by veterinary staff at Perth Zoo on Thursday.

    Western Australian Department of Environment and Conservation

    A DEC officer examines one of the reptiles.

    To learn more about the illegal trade in Asian wildlife, watch photographer Patrick Brown's project Black Market.

  • 451 turtles rescued after being smuggled on plane

    Rungroj Yongrit / EPA

    A customs official holds a confiscated Indian Roofed Turtle during a press conference at the Customs Department in Bangkok, Thailand on June 2.

    msnbc.com news services report:

    Thai customs officials found 451 turtles and seven freshwater crocodiles stashed in suitcases offloaded from a passenger flight from Bangladesh.

    The animals seized at Bangkok's bustling Suvarnabhumi airport were worth 1 million baht ($33,000), authorities said.

    The alleged trafficker, a Bangladeshi national, did not collect the luggage and fled on arrival in Bangkok, customs officials said.

    Authorities in Bangkok seized more than 400 turtles which were stuffed into four suitcases. TODAY.com's Dara Brown reports.

    Related content:

     

  • Smuggled shipment of sea turtles and coral intercepted in Philippines

    Romeo Ranoco / Reuters

    A customs official stands guard beside a preserved hawksbill turtle, locally known as "Pawikan," and rare black corals before customs officials and a senator present to media inside a customs headquarters in Manila May 30, 2011. According to customs officials, the Bureau of Customs seized earlier this month two containers of protected species amounting to 35 million pesos ($808,221) including 161 preserved hawksbill and green turtles, nearly 21,000 pieces of black corals, more than 7,300 seashells and 196kg of sea whips.

    Rolex Dela Pena / EPA

    Filipinos bring out dried sea turtles from an illegal shipment seized by authorities and kept for inspection at the Bureau of Customs port in Manila, Philippines, 30 May 2011. The World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) said marine species illegally captured by poachers end up as delicacies in Chinese restaurants and as medicines behind the drug counters of Hongkong, China, Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Burma. The WWF has also called for intensified protection of coral reefs, following discovery of illegal shipments of black sea corals by Philippine authorities in May 2011.

    Here's a story about the seized shipment.  

  • Exotic animals found in suitcases at Bangkok airport

    Damir Sagolj / Reuters

    A two-month-old leopard cub looks from inside a cage after Thai police arrested a citizen of the United Arab Emirates at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok on May 13. Thai police arrested a UAE citizen just after midnight today as he was preparing to fly first class from Bangkok to Dubai with various rare and endangered animals in his suitcases, which included four leopards, one Malayan sun bear, one white-cheeked gibbon, one black-tufted marmoset, an Asiatic black bear and two macaque monkeys.

    Damir Sagolj / Reuters

    A two-month-old leopard cub looks from inside a cage after Thai police arrested a citizen of the United Arab Emirates at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok on May 13. )

    Freeland Foundation / AFP - Getty Images

    A hand out picture taken and released on May 13 by the wildlife protection group Freeland Foundation shows a baby bear sleeping in a cage after it was seized by Thai police at a Bangkok airport from a United Arab Emirates citizen who was attempting to smuggle several live, rare animals in his luggage out of the country. Thai police said they arrested Noor Mahmoodr, 36, who was detained soon after midnight by undercover officers who found two leopards, two monkeys, two panthers and the Asiatic black bear -- all aged under two months -- in his cases. The man, who was trying to take the animals on a first-class flight to Dubai from Suvarnabhumi airport, was charged with smuggling endangered species out of Thailand, Colonel Kiattipong Khawsamang of the Nature Crime Police told AFP.

    Damir Sagolj / Reuters

    A black-tufted marmoset looks from inside a cage after Thai police arrested a citizen of the United Arab Emirates at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok on May 13.

    Damir Sagolj / Reuters

    A three-month old white-cheeked gibbon looks from inside a cage after Thai police arrested a citizen of the United Arab Emirates at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok May 13, 2011. Thai police arrested a UAE citizen just after midnight as he was preparing to fly first class from Bangkok to Dubai with various rare and endangered animals in his suitcases, which included four leopards, one Malayan sun bear, one white-cheeked gibbon, one black-tufted marmoset, an Asiatic black bear and two macaque monkeys.

    By John Makely, NBC News

     

    BANGKOK —(AP)  Authorities at Thailand's international airport arrested a first-class passenger Friday whose suitcases were filled with baby leopards, panthers, a bear and monkeys. The animals had been drugged and were headed for Dubai.

    The man, a 36-year-old United Arab Emirates citizen, was waiting to check-in for his flight at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport when he was apprehended by undercover anti-trafficking officers, who had been monitoring him since his black market purchase of the rare and endangered animals, according to the FREELAND Foundation, an anti-trafficking group based in Thailand.

    For more on the story click here.

  • Rungroj Yongrit / EPA

    A newborn pangolin looks on from a cage after being born shortly before a press conference in Bangkok, Thailand on April 20. Thai customs seized 173 smuggled pangolins and 130 kilograms of dried snake skins valued at 66,000 US dollars, customs said. The pangolin is listed as an endangered species in CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species).

    Curious newborn pangolin greets photographers

    To learn more about the illegal trade in Asian wildlife, watch photographer Patrick Brown's project Black Market.