Ten endangered flamingos have been saved after smugglers have been caught attempting to site visitors them out of Tunisia, in response to the nation’s customs physique.
Pictures of the birds crammed into crates with their wings, legs and torsos sure up have been posted by the pressure on-line.
The flamingos have been rescued near the Algerian border on Sunday, having been “loaded onto a lorry bearing a Tunisian registration plate”, officers mentioned in an announcement.
The birds have now been safely returned to their pure habitat, officers added, “as a part of efforts to protect the species”.
However will not be clear what motion is being taken in opposition to the purported smugglers.
It’s unlawful to hunt or smuggle flamingos in Tunisia as a result of they’re protected by Tunisian legislation.
Different threats to flamingos embody air pollution and rising temperatures attributable to human-induced local weather change, say conservationists, inflicting flamingos’ wetland habitats to shrink.
The higher flamingo, or Phoenicopterus roseus to make use of its scientific identify, is listed as a threatened species by the Worldwide Union for Conservation of Nature.
But there may be some excellent news, as knowledge gathered previously decade has proven some inhabitants will increase.
Newest estimates recommend there are no less than half one million left within the wild.
North Africa is one cease amongst many for these migratory birds, that are additionally noticed in Europe, West Africa and Asia.
Fowl-watching hotspots for flamingos embody Djerba island off Tunisia’s south-eastern coast, and Korba Lagoon additional to the north.
