Animals on wild flying safari

Animals on wild flying safari

MOSCOW (Reuters): Like a modern-day Noah of the skies, a Russian airline needed the world's largest cargo plane to carry a menagerie of animals including four giraffes from Prague to Indonesia, an official said on Friday.

"Our An-124-100 freighter delivered 68 animals from Czech zoos, including four giraffes, zebras, antelopes, crocodiles and hippopotamuses for Safari national park in Surabaya, Indonesia, where they will live in natural conditions," said Anna Krasnova, a spokeswoman for cargo airline Volga-Dnepr.

The giraffes made the two-day journey in special open boxes that allowed them to stretch out their necks toward the spacious 4.4 meter (yard) high ceiling.

"All of the animals arrived to the destination in good condition despite the long-distance flight with a stopover in Pakistan," she added.

Krasnova said that the customer -- Taman Safari Indonesia -- was hoping to fly in more animals in the future.

The flight left on December 7, but the company only made it public on Friday.