A large number of wild animals rescued from traffickers' hands have been settled down in their temporary home at the Hainan Rescue Center for Endangered Wild Animals.
The animals, which were suspected to be smuggled from a number of Southeast Asian countries, include 566 monitor lizards, 259 pythons, five pangolins and more than 4,000 kilograms of wild snakes, Thursday's China Daily reports.
The animals were rescued by police at Sanya, south China's Hainan Province on July 25. It is the largest case of wild animal smuggling uncovered in Hainan, according to Wang Chundong, director of the rescue center.
To better take care of the animals, the rescue center has provided eight rooms to house them and they have to be cleaned three times a day, Wang said.
The animals will be released in a month under the direction of the State Forestry Bureau, according to the newspaper.
But Wang revealed that the center has been put under a financial strain because the animals will eat their way through more than 20,000 yuan (US$2,500) worth of feed a month.
The case is still under investigation now.
(Xinhua News Agency 08/09/2001)
