On Monday, 130 toxic frogs that were being smuggled via the Bogota airport were discovered by Colombian authorities, who also detained the Brazilian woman who was transporting them.
Travelling to Sao Paulo with a stopover in Panama, the woman was carrying the vibrant harlequin poison frogs (oophaga histrionica) within film containers.
Adriana Soto, the Bogota Environment Secretary, stated in a video distributed to the media that she “claimed that a local community had given them as a gift.”
Harlequin frogs are venomous, measure less than five centimeters (two inches) and live in damp forests along the Pacific coast between Ecuador and Colombia, as well as in other countries in Central and South America.
“This endangered species is sought after in international markets,” said Bogota Police Commander Juan Carlos Arevalo, adding that private collectors might pay up to $1,000 for each.
The police reported that the woman carrying the frogs was arrested “for the crime of wildlife tracking” before being handed over to the prosecutor’s office.
Animal trafficking is common in Colombia — one of the most biodiverse countries in the world — especially of amphibians, small mammals and marine animal parts, such as those of sharks.
