--- description: It's survival of the sneakiest at airport security terminals across the world, with the latest species intercepted Monday at LAX. title: Wildlife Smuggling at Airport Security: PHOTOS image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9ec35400bb9bed03/69869bd3f983e7536204ed45/wildlife-smuggling-airport-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [animals](/tag/animals/) ## animals Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Survival of the Sneakiest: Animal Smuggling Attempts at Airport Security by [TIME Photo](/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 15, 2014 7:33 PM CUT  A baby tiger cub is found in the suitcase of a woman flying from Bangkok to Iran, at Suvarnabhumi Airport, in Bangkok, Thailand. Authorities at the airport found the baby tiger cub that had been drugged and hidden among stuffed toy tigers in the suitcase. Photo release Aug. 22, 2010. A baby tiger cub is found in the suitcase of a woman flying from Bangkok to Iran, at Suvarnabhumi Airport, in Bangkok, Thailand. Authorities at the airport found the baby tiger cub that had been drugged and hidden among stuffed toy tigers in the suitcase. Photo release Aug. 22, 2010.Suvarnabhumi Airport Wildlife Checkpoint/AP by [TIME Photo](/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 15, 2014 7:33 PM CUT  A baby tiger cub is found in the suitcase of a woman flying from Bangkok to Iran, at Suvarnabhumi Airport, in Bangkok, Thailand. Authorities at the airport found the baby tiger cub that had been drugged and hidden among stuffed toy tigers in the suitcase. Photo release Aug. 22, 2010. Suvarnabhumi Airport Wildlife Checkpoint/AP  U.S. customs inspectors at Los Angeles International Airport seized a shipment of several dozen live Giant African snails seen inthis photo released on July 14, 2014, considered a delicacy in Nigeria but also pests that can eat paint and stucco off houses. Handout/Reuters  A Dutch traveller was caught trying to smuggle more than a dozen live hummingbirds in special pouches sewn into the inside of his underwear at Rochambeau airport on Sept, 28, 2011 in Cayenne, French Guiana. The birds were individually wrapped in cloth and taped up to prevent them from escaping. Whitehotpix/ZumaPress  A crocodile native to India is shown to the press during a news conference in Bangkok on June 2, 2011\. Thai customs authorities say 431 turtles and other rare reptiles were stuffed into four suitcases and smuggled into the Bangkok airport. Apichart Weerawong—AP  An Australian man was caught with two pigeons hidden in his pants on a flight from Dubai to Melbourne, Australia on Feb 1, 2009\. The 23-year-old man was questioned by Customs after two eggs and some seeds were found in a vitamin container in his luggage. A search of his body found two live pigeons wrapped in padded envelopes and held to the man's legs with a pair of tights. Australian Customs Service/AP  An officer from Singapore's Immigration and Custom Authority holds one of many star tortoise which were found in the hand luggage of an Indian national at Singapore's Changi Airport on Sept. 15, 2003\. An Indian national was apprehended for illegal possessing 499 endangered star tortoises. AFP/Getty Images  This undated photo provided by the Department of Justice shows a detained suspect with songbirds strapped to his legs at Los Angeles International Airport The man was charged on May 5, 2009. Department of Justice/AP  An Indonesian customs officer shows a python snake, part of a haul discovered at the Sukarno-Hatta airport in Tangerang outside Jakarta on March 26, 2011\. Indonesian airport officials said they foiled an attempt by two Kuwaitis to smuggle 40 pythons in their luggage. AFP/Getty Images/Newscom  A woman arrived in Melbourne, Australia on a flight from Singapore with 51 live tropical fish hidden in a specially designed apron under her skirt on June 6, 2005\. Customs officers became suspicious after hearing 'flipping' noises coming from her waist. Australian Customs Service/AP  An employee of Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau holds one of five sailfin lizards that were smuggled into Hong Kong and brought back to the Philippines on June 8, 2012\. The lizards were smuggled into Hong Kong along with 18 Philippine pond turtles and 13 Asian box turtles. Bullit Marquez—AP  A plane passenger with dozens of deadly tarantula spiders hidden in his luggage was arrested as he tried to smuggle the spiders past customs officials in Zurich Airport, Switzerland. The spiders were endangered Mexican red kneed tarantulas, and are understood to have died of cold during the flight. Newscom ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2987979/smuggled-animals-aiport-security/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2987979/smuggled-animals-aiport-security/"},"headline":"Survival of the Sneakiest: Animal Smuggling Attempts at Airport Security","datePublished":"2014-07-15T19:33:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:08:07.042Z","description":"Airport security is perhaps the world's harshest, most competitive ecosystem, with the latest species — 67 live giant African snails — intercepted Monday at the Los Angeles International Airport. 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