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Found in a fridge: One of the world's most endangered species

TWO of the world's most beautiful creatures are found stuffed into a fridge in Hanoi - a rare insight into the lucrative trade in endangered animals across South-east Asia that makes a mockery of international conservation treaties.

Vietnamese police this week found the two frozen tigers in an apartment, along with two soup kettles filled with animal bones in an outdoor kitchen.

A 40-year-old woman confessed to police that she had hired three experts to cook tiger bones to make traditional medicines that she sold for about £400 per 100g.

"The tigers could have been bought in Myanmar [Burma] or Laos and transported back to Vietnam by ambulances or hidden in coffins," said Vuong Tri Hoa, a forest ranger.

And there is the problem: while more developed countries in South-east Asia, such as China and Vietnam, have taken strong steps to stamp out the illegal hunting of endangered animals, impoverished states such as Laos and Burma either will not or cannot.

Demand for exotic animals across South-east Asia remains high - newly affluent Chinese prove excellent customers.

Three of the world's nine tiger sub-species fell extinct last century, and many scientists believe a fourth, the South China tiger is already "functionally extinct".

Poached from forests and sold to traders for as little as £5, almost every part of Asia's biggest big cat has commercial value.

Skins are sold as rugs and cloaks on the black market, where a single skin can fetch as much as £10,000.

Tiger meat is marketed as giving "strength", and bones are ground into powders or immersed in vats of wine to make curative "tiger-bone wine" tonics for the traditional Chinese medicine market.
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Extraordinary Diving Around The World | Yap with Manta Ray Bay Hotel & Yap Divers

The Manta Ray Bay Hotel is a dedicated dive resort, designed by divers and built for divers. It’s 35 rooms offer air conditioning, refrigerators (upon request) and in-room TV and DVD player. We have often been called "The Best Little Dive Hotel in the Pacific".
The hotel was built with divers in mind. All of the dive facilities and equipment storage are conveniently located within steps of the Hotel.

Yap Divers, located on the premises, offers a full service dive shop, all levels of instruction, Mares & Oceanic rental equipment, morning and afternoon two tank dives to either the Manta sites or the reefs and walls. A number of specialty dives are also offered on a daily basis - Mandarin Fish, Macro, Shark Feed and night dives. NITROX is also available for all dives.

We also offer world class fishing with Yap Anglers, and an opportunity to explore the wildlife and nature by kayaking with Yap's Planet Blue Kayak Tours. We also offer a full range of island tours specifically designed to showcase Yap’s unique indigenous culture.

The Manta Ray Bistro, the Island's finest restaurant with a great view of the lagoon, is located on the main deck of the S/V Mnuw, our turn of the century South Seas Schooner.
Our guests can also enjoy our very own micro brewed beer or a refreshing tropical drink in either the Nautical Weaver Bar located on the Bridge Deck of the Mnuw or in the Crow's Nest Bar located on the top deck under the mizzen mast.
Yap is world famous for it's large population of resident manta rays. On Yap a manta dive does not mean diving hoping for a manta encounter, it means diving to see the mantas.
There's much more to diving in Yap than just Manta Rays, however. Yap's outer reefs abound with species of tropical reef fishes, invertebrates and corals. When coupled with the abundance of larger species like mantas, sharks, and turtles, Yap is a paradise for the underwater photographer or videographer. More than 200 species of hard and soft corals form the reefs of Yap.

Yap Caverns, at the southern tip of the island offers a truly spectacular dive with an array of caverns, swim throughs and pinnacles populated by Lionfish and sleeping whitetip reef sharks. Large schools of Huge Bumphead Parrotfish are often seen here. A unique feature of Yap Caverns is that the dive not restricted to advanced divers, beginners have no trouble negotiating the swim throughs, and are able to share an experience of magical beauty otherwise reserved for more experienced divers.

The reefs on the East side of the island (windward side) feature gently sloping terraces with one of the most diverse selections of hard corals in Micronesia. The west side of the island (lee side) is composed of a series of vertical walls starting in 15 feet of water and plunging straight down hundreds of feet. The visibility on the reefs usually exceeds 100 feet and frequently is over 150 ft.

Many species of marine creatures that are rare in some parts of the world are plentiful in Yap. Dive sites such as Lionfish Wall offer a chance to experience the beauty of a pristine coral reef. One perpetual favorite of divers is the colorful clownfish. Five species can be seen in Yap. Some of the anemones they live in are over four feet across and host dozens of clowns.

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Latest news:

Found in a fridge: One of the world's most endangered species

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Extraordinary Diving Around The World | Yap with Manta Ray Bay Hotel & Yap Divers