Many zoos work to educate visitors about the fate of endangered animal species.

That of London (United Kingdom), however, wanted to go even further by adopting a new kind of communication.

In the enclosure reserved for a Siamese crocodile, the living reptile has been replaced by a bag, made from the skin of another individual of its species, reports the British version of the

Huffington Post

.

London zoo not pissing around pic.twitter.com/C9cxoDCba2

— T🍅M (@sleepy_homo) August 1, 2022

Access to this content has been blocked to respect your choice of consent

By clicking on "

I ACCEPT

", you accept the deposit of cookies by external services and will thus have access to the content of our partners

I ACCEPT

And to better remunerate 20 Minutes, do not hesitate to accept all cookies, even for one day only, via our "I accept for today" button in the banner below.

More information on the Cookie Management Policy page.


The leather purse was seized at an airport in the country, said Ben Tapley, curator of reptiles and amphibians at the zoo.

The manager explained that the objective of the approach, widely relayed and commented on on social networks, is to "draw the attention of visitors to the devastating impact of the illegal trade in wild animals on species all over the world".

Humor to convey a message

Bien Tapley added that the zoo is working globally with governments and local communities to protect endangered wildlife but also reduce demand and support laws punishing trafficking rings.

Next to the much-talked-about purse, a sign wryly states that "this bag was once found swimming in slow-flowing rivers and streams in Southeast Asia and Indonesia."

Indeed, the Siamese crocodile is critically endangered and has been placed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list.

80% of the population has disappeared in seventy-five years.

There would remain less than 1,000 individuals living in the wild according to the IUCN.

Only two of them have been seen in ten years.

Planet

Climate: One in five reptiles is at risk of extinction, new study finds

Planet

Perpignan: Four live alligators found in a van

  • Planet

  • London

  • Crocodile

  • Zoo

  • UK

  • Animals

  • Threatened species

  • Environment