In October, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer at California’s Otay Mesa border crossing noticed an odd bulge inside a man’s pants. Jesse Agus Martinez, a U.S. citizen who lives in Tijuana, repeatedly claimed the bump was “pirrin,” a Spanish word for penis. His history of smuggling birds into the U.S. prompted further examination, and the officer found two brown sacks hidden in his underwear. Each contained an unconscious, heavily sedated orange-fronted parakeet (Eupsittula canicularis). He was indicted by a grand jury on November 14 for illegally importing the birds — a protected species native to Mexico and Costa Rica. Earlier that month, investigators with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) discovered an alleged illegal trafficking operation dealing in rare animal parts that was linked to an unnamed Los Angeles-based business. Officials seized thousands of elephant ivory pieces, nine rhino horns, several carved tusks and a sea turtle shell, which will be analyzed at the department’s Wildlife Forensics Lab. As of publication, no arrests have been made. These incidents offer a glimpse into the range of wildlife flowing illegally across the southern border into the state: birds, mammals, reptiles and invertebrates. “The recent trends in illegal wildlife trafficking into California show a marked rise in the smuggling of live, high-value species protected under CITES and the Endangered Species Act,” said Denise Larison, acting regional supervisor for wildlife inspection at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). “The top three right now that we’re seeing in California [are] live…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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