Ukrainian boarder guards find lion cub hidden among 2,245 parrots

March 23 (UPI) -- Border guards in Ukraine examining a van carrying 2,245 parrots discovered a mismatched animal hidden among the birds -- a baby lion.

The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine said in a YouTube post that guards at the Port of Odessa, a Black Sea maritime trading port near the city of Odessa, searched an animal transport van March 23 that the driver and two passengers said was hauling 2,245 parrots and four dogs.

The guards found the lion cub hidden under a blanket and sports back in the back of the vehicle, the border guard service said.

The lion cub was sent to a zoo in Odessa for care and the driver, a Turkish national, and two passengers are expected to face smuggling charges for allegedly trying to transport the lion to Turkey illegally.