They heard strange noises in the luggage of a passenger and discovered a lion cub

A pbadenger who was hiding in his luggage little leopard of barely a month He was arrested when he arrived in Chennai, India, from Thailand, local police said.

The pup, who weighed just a kilo, was hidden in a plastic bag hidden in a carry-on baggage, with which the pbadenger took his Thai Airlines flight to Bangkok.

The airport officials said that they heard strange noises from the luggage and that the man tried to run away from the airport.

"His answers were very evasive and that is why we proceeded to open his luggage for a better review," said an airport official.

According to the same source, "the animal was disoriented and seemed weakened"

Until now, the nationality of the 45 year old pbadenger who has been placed under arrest is unknown. A video released by the airport authorities of India shows agents feed the leopard with milk with the help of a bottle.

A.O. Limatoshi, chief of the Wildlife Crime Branch in Chennai, said AFP that the pbadenger "is questioned about the origin of the animal", to try to find out if there was part of an international smuggling network.

Leopards are native to the Asian continent but their current status is very vulnerable, with a population in constant decline for the loss of habitat and the illegal hunters who negotiate the skin.

In India, leopards are a species danger of extinction. It is estimated that the leopard population in India is between 12,000 and 140,000 people and that their trafficking is illegal.

(With information from AFP)