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A man attempted to smuggle 74 protected Chameleon through an Austrian airport by hiding the animals in socks and empty ice ointment containers in his luggage .
The gentleman was catch at customs control condition in Vienna after traveling from Tanzania via Ethiopia , The Associated Press cover . After authorities seize the colored reptiles , thechameleonswere taken to Vienna ’s Schӧnbrunn Zoo , but three of the animals did not survive . The menagerie identify all of the chameleons as earlier being from the Usambara Mountains in Tanzania .
citizenry on a regular basis reap Tanzanian chameleons from the Usambara Mountains to sell in the exotic favorite business deal , but not all do so legally . effectual trade of the animal require permit and authorities limit the routine of chameleons that can be hoard and export , accord to a 2011 report in the journalHerpetological Conservation and Biology . The animals face rampant home ground loss , so if too many chameleons are taken from the region , they could at long last be drive to quenching .
touch on : Chameleon fact
Most chamaeleon are protect under theConvention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora ( CITES ) Article II , which requires various certificates to legally trade the animals . For illicitly stow chameleon in socks and ice cream tubs , the man caught in Vienna will face a amercement of up to 6,000 euros ( about $ 7,300 ) , the Austrian finance ministry said in a assertion , concord to The Associated Press .
— 10 species that are in so much danger they ’ll be featured on limited - variation shirts
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— cat and lizards and monkeys , oh my ! 9 island ruled by fauna
The zoo did not note which species of chameleon the man tried to smuggle , but they said the lizards swan from 1 - week - honest-to-god babies to full - grown adult .
Photos of the recovered chameleons can be seenin the AP article .
earlier published on Live Science .
