Cops Called To Investigate A Smell Didn't Expect To Find This

Over 10,000 Stolen Tortoises Rescued From Home In Madagascar

In April 2018, police from the city of Toliara in Madagascar received a strange phone call from an extremely worried resident. They hurriedly told the officers that there was something seriously wrong with the abandoned house they were living next to. It was giving off a strange, rancid stench that was so sickening, they were terrified to think of what might be going on behind the front door.

Concerned about the strange tip off, the police made plans to follow up on that information, and they turned up to investigate a little later that evening. On the outside, the quaint, two storey home seemed totally normal, but as the officers approached, they suddenly gagged at the stomach turning smell wafting through the air.

After they covered their noses and stopped retching, they quickly realized they could hear something. Out in the darkness, several people were talking and more disturbingly digging. The police rushed to investigate and discovered two men out in the garden hurriedly burying something.

But to their horror, they discovered the men were stood over several pits that looked alarmingly like graves. Just what was it they were trying to hide? Without a moment to lose, they detained the two men before bravely braking into the house to uncover the cause of the stench. But as they walked inside, they were shocked to the core by what they found.

Crawling and scrabbling across every inch of the floor were thousands upon thousands of tiny, terrified tortoises! And not just any tortoises, those were exceedingly rare Radiated Tortoises; a critically endangered species native only to the island of Madagascar.

Those poor creatures had been trapped and crammed into every single room of the two-story house even the bathroom! And it seemed like they’d been kept there without much food or water. A single sink in the bathroom was filled with rotten looking leaves, but it had been kept cruelly out of reach of the animal’s hungry little mouths.

Although, it was stinkingly clear that they had been being fed for the most part, because the floor was hideously thick with the animal’s feces and urine. The house clearly hadn’t been cleaned in a very long time, and it was those endless layers of excrement that was giving off the wretched smell!

After assessing the scene, the police realized what had been going on; the poor tortoises were being illegally trafficked. Radiated Tortoises are coveted by collectors all over the world for the intricate star shaped patterns on their shells. But removing that critically endangered species from the Madagascan wilderness is highly illegal!

So much so, that over 182 countries plus the European Union have completely banned their export, under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. That means the tortoises had been unlawfully taken from the Madagascan forest, and were being stored for sale on the black market!

There, depending on the tortoise’s size, they could be sold for upwards of a whopping $4,000 each! So, it was likely they were being secretly smuggled out of the country to callous buyers who didn’t care where they came from. Or even worse, to the Asian food and traditional medicine markets, where they’re coveted for their meat as well as their shells!

Fortunately, those shelled sufferers weren’t destined to end up on anyone’s dinner plates! Police arrested the two men they found in the back garden, as well a third in connection to the crime of animal trafficking.

They then began the monumental task of rescuing every last turtle the house contained, loading them up onto trucks and transporting them to wildlife rehabilitation facilities. But as the last one was placed onboard, they realized they hadn’t just loaded one or two thousand of the little critters, but an unbelievable 9,888 of them!

Although, sadly, they weren’t in time to rescue all of them. Almost 600 had perished in the poor conditions of the makeshift holding facility, some of which were being buried by those two very guilty men! But if they’d gotten away with it and had gone on to sell each live tortoise for about $4,000, they would have made a staggering $39.5 million! Fortunately, things didn’t work out for them, and the three shell-shocked offenders are now each spending about 6 years behind bars!

Tiger Found In Abandoned Houston House

Back in 2019, a local resident of Houston, Texas, was walking down the street when they spotted an abandoned house. Thinking it was completely empty, they tried to sneak inside the dimly lit garage, hoping to find a nice quiet spot to smoke a certain psychoactive substance.

As they were looking around, they stumbled across something in the dingy garage that sobered them up real quick. They rang the police and told the operator that they’d just found a full grown tiger in the abandoned house! After listening to that outrageous story, the operator assumed that the caller was under the influence of the drug. Nevertheless, the police went to investigate that hilarious claim.

But when they arrived at the vacant house, they too discovered a massive adult tiger locked inside a very cramped cage. Although "locked" is perhaps the wrong word, because its bars had been loosely secured with nothing more than a nylon strap and a screwdriver!

Tiger found in abandoned Houston home by The Humane Society of the United States

Not only that, but the poor creature was hugely overweight. Officers later found parcels of meat left nearby, so it was clear someone was still caring for the animal. But leaving it all alone in that tiny cage was just too cruel for words! They tranquilized and transported the tiger to a sanctuary in Texas, before starting the hunt for its owner.

It took three months of searching for clues, but they eventually tracked down Brittany Garza! While there’s no specific federal law against owning a tiger, Garza was in seriously hot water for the way she abandoned the animal.

She explained that she’d bought the tiger who she called Raja when he was a cub. But as Raja started getting bigger, she couldn’t handle him and needed to find a new place for him to live. She tried to explain that she was just storing Raja in her friend’s vacant home for a few days before he was due to be transported.

But that lame excuse wasn’t good enough for the police! And they arrested her on the spot and charged her with animal cruelty. They should have charged her with being criminally stupid because who buys a tiger without thinking they’re going to get bigger?

Abandoned tiger's owner arrested for caging in vacant house by ABC13 Houston

New World Fish Mall

In the middle of the busy streets of Bangkok, Thailand, lies an abandoned mall which once hid a surprising secret behind its crumbling walls. The New World Mall closed back in 1997, but just 2 years later a huge fire broke out inside, destroying most of the interior and collapsing its roof.

Over the years, rainwater slowly began to pool on the ground floor, which attracted some rather unwelcome visitors: Mosquitos! Those bloodsuckers thrived in the wet, humid environment, and began plaguing the local area with their presence.

Worried that those masses of mosquitos could begin spreading diseases, like dengue fever or malaria, local residents put their heads together and came up with a simple solution. Instead of arduously draining the water, or setting up thousands of mosquito traps, they gradually introduced koi and catfish into the water.

New World Mall by Kenny King

The fish would snaffle up the eggs that the mosquitos would lay on the surface, keeping their annoying numbers low while also providing them with plenty of food! It started off with just a few fish, but it soon turned into a veritable aquarium! As stunning as it looks, sadly the complex turned pond was drained back in 2015. By the end, more than 3,000 fish were caught and released back into the wild!

Racoon In Walmart

Racoons may look adorable with their little whiskers and big round eyes, but those trash bandits are considered a common pest in America! And that’s mainly because of all the havoc they can cause. From rifling through dumpsters to sneaking into Walmart, nowhere is safe from the reaches of those versatile little animals. Not even the highest rooves of your house, as one stunned neighbor discovered.

Racoon was in walmart about a month ago looking for a job lol by Julius Johnson

Back in 2015, Iv D captured the incredible moment where an entire family of 8 racoons deftly clambered up the brickwork of an abandoned house! Mom was leading the charge with one of her babies dangling from her mouth, while the others slowly clambered after her!

They used nothing more than the grooves of the bricks to hoist themselves up, trailing after one another like a hilariously furry conga line. It looks like their mom found a hole in the roof of the abandoned building, which she made a nest in and decided to call home.

Traditionally, racoons make their homes in hollowed out trees or ground burrows, but they’re not fussy when it comes to hunkering down in warm, sheltered spaces! But unfortunately, the next owner of that house is going to be in for a real nasty shock.

The thing is, racoons can have up to 7 babies at any one time, and they’re born just 9 weeks after mating. So, if that house is left for a year or two, there could be a lot more racoons living in the rafters! You wouldn’t want to be the next person who moves in there, because those roommates are going to be a pain to evict.

Python Hoarding

Most of the quaint, quiet houses of Vinton, Iowa, look perfectly picturesque on the outside, but there’s one in the middle of town that once concealed a horrendous secret. Back in 2018, a utility worker visited the house belonging to the Galkowski family and to his surprise he saw a Ball Python snake freely slithering about the place.

Those snakes famously squeeze their prey to death and can be incredibly dangerous, so they’re actually illegal to own inside Vinton’s city limits. Concerned, he rang the local police, who turned up to serve the Galkowski’s a search warrant.

But before they could even step foot in the home, the overpowering smell of urine, feces, and ammonia hit them like a brick wall. Crammed into every nook and cranny of the house were rows upon rows of caged animals. They ranged from guinea pigs and rabbits to birds and reptiles, all kept in inhumanely tiny cages peppered throughout the house.

Most of them were living in incredibly unsanitary conditions, with many even lacking food and water. To make matters worse, three young children also lived amidst all that filth, potentially exposing them to infectious diseases!

After 700 living and tragically dead animals were removed from that house of horrors, Barbara and Marshall Galkowski were charged with both animal neglect and child endangerment. Barbara later pleaded that the animals weren’t neglected, but rescues, which she and her family cared for deeply.

But the courts determined that was no excuse for forcing animals and children to live in those squalid conditions. They eventually pleaded guilty, but then brazenly they demanded to have all the animals returned to them!

Obviously, that wasn’t going to happen, although the judge was lenient and allowed them to keep 10 guinea pigs, 1 turtle, and three lizards. Sure, they had the best intentions, but after seeing all that, you wouldn’t trust those people to look after a pet rock!

Cows Spend A Month In Newly Built House

Moving houses can be a pretty stressful experience. But could you imagine opening the door of your brand new home only to find the floors and walls were slick with poop? Unfortunately, that was the scene that one family moving to Montana walked right into.

Their new home had been freshly built on part of a relatives property, and it was left empty for just one month before they found the time to move in. They assumed that their relative was going down from time to time to check up on the new build, though it became startlingly clear they’d done no such thing.

When the family finally arrived with all their possessions in tow, they were startlingly greeted by four stray cows who had somehow managed to get inside the house! They’d escaped from a neighboring farm and managed to nudge the nearby house’s front door open, before making themselves at home!

Having investigated all the ground floor rooms, they tracked in an ungodly amount of mud, which was splattered all across the floor and walls! They also added to the interior design by pooping everywhere, so the house looked as bad as it smelled!

"Old Mop" Dog Found In Abandoned House

On the outskirts of Lyndhurst, New York, something furry snuffled about an old, abandoned house. The tenants of the property had moved out a year ago, but they hadn’t owned any animals. So, when a local resident found this heart wrenching creature in the video below, shuffling through the premises, he knew something wasn’t right.

SPCA: Dog Found Inside Abandoned LI House Looked Like ‘Old Mop,’ Could Barely Walk by CBS New York

Beneath layers and layers of mattered, filthy fur and horribly overgrown claws was a very small, and very frightened little dog. But his condition was so bad that he could barely walk! Thankfully, the resident wasted no time and took him straight to the Babylon Animal Shelter.

While the dog’s condition was one of the worst the shelter’s volunteers had ever seen, they were determined to help him. It took a lot of elbow grease to de-tangle the poor pup, but after three grueling hours, a whopping 4 pounds of fur was safely removed from the 11 pound dog!

His claws were also trimmed down to a more manageable length, but that wasn’t enough to get him back on his feet. The determined dog had to undergo physical therapy to learn how to properly walk again! Though it was all worthwhile, as later that year he was able to stand up and potter around without any pain!

The shelter gave him the incredibly cute name Ziggy, before posting a $2,000 reward for any information about his cruel and callous abandonment. Unfortunately, no one has come forward, but even so, Ziggy’s story has an incredibly happy ending! After seeing his heart breaking story in the news, the Li couple rushed to the shelter and despite all his special needs offered to give Ziggy a forever home.

Cat With "Dreadlocks"

As soul destroying as Ziggy’s story was, he’s not the only animal to be engulfed by his own fur following years of neglect! Back in 2016, Paul Russel from Pennsylvania went to clear out the home of a distant relative. The old man had suffered severely from dementia, so he’d just been moved into a nursing home.

But Paul remembered that he’d owned a cat, so he took it upon himself to go down to the house and leave out food for the animal. As he began searching around the house for the elusive feline, something suddenly darted out from under a bed! It was a huge, bulging animal that looked like it had ten separate limbs, almost like some kind of giant spider!

Before he could do anything, it quickly disappeared downstairs towards the cellar. Curious, and a little frightened, Paul grabbed a flashlight and made his way down the darkened steps. He scoured the cellar, expecting something to leap out at him as if he were in a horror film!

But his flashlight finally caught the creature he was looking for. It was a frightened calico cat with huge dreadlocks of matted fur erupting from her back, which looked incredibly painful to carry.

Without hesitating, Paul gathered the cat up and took her to the Animal Rescue League and Wildlife Shelter in Pittsburgh. There, after the vet team picked their jaws up off the floor, they carefully shaved the dreadlocks off, which weighed a whopping 2 lbs in total.

It seemed that his elderly relative hadn’t been able to brush the cat’s long fur, which had grown slowly more matted over the years. But after a good shave, she was revealed to be a perfectly happy and healthy cat, who now looks more like a little lion than a spider!

Rat King

Way back in 1828, Europe was nowhere near as clean and pretty as it is today. Filth lined many of the streets, disease was rife, and rats thrived in the dirty conditions. But in the town of Thuringia, Germany, something even more vile was lurking up an unsuspecting fireplace.

The local miller was doing a little spring cleaning one day when he discovered a terrifyingly scorched clump of rats hidden up his chimney! Somehow, 32 of the now mummified rodents had their tails twisted together in a colossal knot, forming what’s unnervingly known as "A Rat King".

Although, it wasn’t the first, or last of its kind to be discovered. Sightings of those malevolent masses have been reported as far back as 1567! And in 2005, a farmer in Estonia discovered a cluster of 13 rats, though not all of them were alive at the time.

It seems that sticky substances like dirt, sap, or even feces could glue the rats tails together. And as they scrabbled around trying to free themselves, more rats would accidentally become entangled in the nasty knot! That bizarre phenomenon inspired hideous myths and legends, with many people claiming their existence to be outright hoaxes.

After all, what was to stop someone from tying the tails of those rats together as part of a side show attraction, or a valuable museum exhibit? And rats aren’t the only animals that experience that horrifying fate. More recently, recordings like this one below, have shown mice hopelessly tied together by their tails!

Tiniest Rat King by eladio787

It's possible that no human has knot tying skills that good! And what’s more, even squirrels have been recorded all tangled up in the same sticky fate. These five juvenile squirrels in the video below, had their tails stuck together with the sap of a tree branch, leaving them all but helpless in the wild!

Squirrel King - saving 5 juvenile squirrels with their tails tangled and full of sap by Guillaume Dutilh

Fortunately, Guillaume Dutilh spotted the tangled tree-lings and was able to dissolve the sap with some rubbing alcohol, freeing all 5 of them! Although others aren’t as lucky, like this poor squirrel king below.

Awsome - 5 squirrels attached by their tails! by flipstardog

It’s impossible to tell just how long they’ve been stuck together, but it’s been long enough for them to have learned how to work together to climb up a tree! So, seeing how mice and even squirrels have fallen victim to the tangle of their own tails, do you think Rat Kings are real creatures, or just cryptids?

Piglet Abandoned At Shelter

Piglets are adorable animals that enjoy nothing more than a good roll around in the mud. But not every piglet has such a happy start to life, as one named Cherry Blossom had experienced.

That’s right, despite the stony looking surface, there’s actually a piglet underneath all those cracks! She was brought into a California shelter by a man who claimed to have found her abandoned on the side of the road.

The poor piglet was suffering from a severe case of sarcoptic mange, a skin disease that covered her in painful scabs from snout to tail. It’s caused by parasitic mites burying into the skin, which are usually found in cramped, unclean conditions.

It was a very odd case, and shelter volunteers started to suspect that the man who’d brought her in was really her owner! He must have forced her to live in squalid conditions, and when she got too sick to care for, he dropped her at the shelter to avoid any blame.

But unfortunately, that shelter wasn’t equipped to care for a pig, and her supposed ‘rescuer’ had suddenly disappeared. Scared she might not survive, the shelter reached out for help, and miraculously the owners of the Sale Ranch Sanctuary came to save the day.

They took the little piglet who was in excruciating pain and began treating her with healing creams, medicines, and even laser light therapy! Slowly but surely, she began to improve, and after two months of treatment combined with lots of love, she transformed into a completely healthy and happy piglet!

So, thanks to the incredible work of the Sale Ranch Sanctuary, little Cherry Blossom now gets to live her life as happy as a pig in mud! I hope you were amazed at these amazing animal discoveries!