Over 50 Ploughshare Tortoises and 21 Radiated Tortoises were seized at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok. Both species are critically endangered. Authorities arrested two adults – one a Thai national and the other was a woman from Madagascar. Both species of tortoise are native to Madgascar and the women had flown from her home country
An 8.7 magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia, reports the U.S. Geological Survey.
The quake struck at 08:38:38 UTC, or 02:38:38 PM at the epicenter, some 33 kilometres beneath seafloor of the Indian Ocean and was felt as far away as Bangkok in Thailand and southern India.
The tropical tourist paradise of Thailand is currently suffering through enormously costly floods, resulting from a “weak” La Niña monsoon season. Following September’s extremely heavy rains — five feet of rain for the month — the monsoon season continues virtually unabated into this month, where it also coincided, last weekend, with the highest tides of the month. It is estimated that 10 % of the nation’s rice crop has been destroyed, so far, costing nearly 4 billion USD, and growing. This will have certain impact on global food prices (driving them higher) and on food security for tens of millions of people.
Security officials opened a suspicious suitcase in a Bangkok, Thailand airport recently and found a young tiger, 2 and 1/2 months old, sleeping, drugged a bit, and stuffed in the suitcase near a stuffed animal tiger. The message to the Thai woman who was boldly breaking the law and offending animal lovers everywhere: “Please, don’t smuggle
