- Tiger Cub, similar to the one found at Bankok Airport – Image via Wikipedia
A tiger cub was discovered stuffed in a large suitcase next to a stuffed toy by airport officials at Bankok after an overweight suitcase was sent to be X-rayed.
The 31-year-old Thai woman who owned the suitcase was booked to fly to Iran where exotic animals are popular. A tiger cub could have fetched around 100,000 baht ($3,196) in Iran.
An X-ray of the large suitcase revealed a live animal, and when the case was opened the small tiger cub was found in a drugged state next to a large cuddly toy.
“He appeared exhausted, dehydrated and couldn’t walk, so we had to give him oxygen, water and lactation,” said Chaiyaporn Chareesaeng, head of the health unit at a wildlife conservation centre in Bangkok.
“We have monitored him closely. As of today, he looks better and can walk a little now.”
The cub, a male, is about three months old and expected to make a full recovery.
The woman who attempted to take the tiger cub on board the flight to Iran has been identified as Piyawan Palasarn. She has been charged with smuggling wildlife. She could get up to four years in prison and a 40,000 baht ($1,278) fine if found guilty.
She denies ownership of the suitcase, saying that she had been asked to carry it by another passenger.
The man who is in charge of the airport’s wildlife checkpoint at Bankok, Nirath Nipanant, thinks that the baby tiger may not have survived the flight had the suitcase been passed at X-ray.
“I was a bit shocked because an animal isn’t supposed to be treated like this,” he said. “Had the animal passed the oversize baggage check and gone through four to five hours of travel, its chances of survival would have been slim.”
Wildlife officials are attempting to track the origin of the tiger cub through a DNA test.
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