Exotic inflation: Price no worry for Indian collectors to get status pets

The prices are no deterrent for those eager to be 'different' or seeking exotic pets as status symbols

White-lipped tamarin is a type of monkey that lives in the Amazon area of Brazil and Bolivia. Prevost’s squirrel is a colourful species from the forests in the Thai-Malay Peninsula and nearby islands. Sugar gliders are tiny marsupials — 6.3 to 8.3 inches in length — native to Australia.
 

In mid-May, all three were present at the Chennai international airport as customs officials thwarted attempts to smuggle in a bunch of exotic animals concealed inside bags. A few days later, on May 24, as many as 468 exotic animals — tortoises, snakes, lizards, and wildcat — were seized in Mizoram.