A suitcase containing 185 giant tortoise babies was found at an airport in the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador, South America, which is known as a habitat for rare animals and is a World Heritage Site.
Local officials arrested a police officer on suspicion of attempting to illegally remove giant tortoises, saying some were already dead.
When I examined the suitcases that were to be sent to the mainland of Ecuador on the 28th at the airport in the Galapagos Islands and Baltra Island, I found 185 babies of Galapagos tortoises that had just returned from the eggs.
In each case, 10 of them were already dead when they were found wrapped in plastic wrap, and 5 more died after that.
According to the leading American newspaper, The New York Times, a police officer was arrested on suspicion of trying to illegally remove giant tortoises in this case.
The protected giant tortoise was sent to a breeding center on another island, but veterinarians say it is not in good health due to stress and other factors.
The Galapagos Islands are known as a habitat for rare animals, and Western media say that the Galapagos tortoises that have just returned from eggs can be traded for about 550,000 yen per animal, which poses a threat such as illegal transactions. It is said that it has been done.