Cambodia seizes 102 rare tortoises, 17 pythons in raid
PHNOM PENH, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's Forest
Administration has confiscated 102 endangered tortoises and 17 pythons in a
raid on a cargo truck in southern Kandal province, an official said on Tuesday.
Y Sophy, chief of the Forest
Administration in the province's Kean Svay district, said officials from the
administration stopped the truck on National Road 1 late Monday afternoon after
a tip-off that wild animals would be illegally transported to Vietnam.
"The elongated tortoises
and pythons had been transported from northwestern Battambang province and
destined for Vietnam," he told Xinhua, adding that the tortoises totally
weighed 443 kg and the pythons weighed 127 kg in total.
He added that a suspected wildlife
smuggler, who drove the truck, had escaped the scene while the officials were
busy searching for the wild animals in the truck.
Elongated tortoises that live in
mountains or forest are listed as "endangered" on the IUCN Red List
of Threatened Species.
According to Sophy, the Forest
Administration handed over the seized wildlife to the WildAid in order to
release them back into a wildlife sanctuary.
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