Rare animals freeze on flight

Hundreds of rare tropical animals being flown from Madagascar to Switzerland have frozen to death after a problem with their transport containers.

Zurich Zoo said 600 lizards, snakes and frogs died during the flight from Madagascar via Paris because the temperature in the containers fell below minimum levels.

“Upon receipt of the animals in Zurich, it was ascertained that the shipment was not handled correctly,” the Zoo said in a statement.

However, more than 1,000 other creatures - mostly centipedes - survived the journey on 6 February but some were in poor shape. “The temperature in the transport containers was only 13C (55F),” the statement said. “Inquiries have shown that the shipment was not always transported at the minimum requirement of 20C (68F), and was temporarily stored in Paris.” —BBC

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