Stuffed dwarf crocodile ‘captured’ at Polish-Ukrainian border

Officials came across the croc, a vulnerable and protected species native to West Africa, during a routine check near the southwestern village of Krościenko. 

While searching the boot of the 46-year-old's Volkswagen, they found themselves face-to-face with the stuffed reptile, its wide-open jaws, razor-sharp fangs and neon-green eyes. 

Authorities found that the driver lacked a permit to transport the taxidermized beast and may have contravened the CITES convention, an international agreement on limiting the trade of endangered animals and plants.  

The crocodile was seized by border troops and now the local customs office for the Podkarpackie region, based in the city of Przemyśl, is investigating. 

“The illegal transportation across the EU border of animal specimens threatened with extinction, as well as the intra-community trade of such specimens, is a crime punishable with a prison sentence from 3 months to 5 years,” the border police said. 

Officers on Poland’s eastern border come face-to-face with unusual animal cargo relatively often—although few are likely to be as terrifying as a preserved croc. 

Data from the Podkarpackie customs service shows that officials discovered around 6,200 objects linked to protected flora and fauna in 2024, ranging from clothing made of the skin of threatened species to medicines containing seahorse extract and stuffed birds. 

Among the live animals they found was a sub-Saharan wild cat hidden in the back of a car by a woman who was later arrested.