Two vets from Singapore were to arrive in Bangkok on Tuesday to help capture snakes and other roaming reptiles in flood-stricken Thailand, a global zoo body said.

The experts from Wildlife Reserves Singapore would bring medical supplies and equipment such as nets for catching snakes and crocodiles to assist their Thai colleagues, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) said.

Thailand's worst floods in half a century, triggered by months of unusually heavy monsoon rains, have left at least 562 people dead and damaged millions of homes and livelihoods, while animals have also been affected by rising waters.

Experts have warned of the increased risk of snake bite as the creatures, like people, evacuate from flooded areas they normally live in such as drainpipes, while crocodiles have also reportedly escaped from inundated farms.

Thai authorities are offering a financial reward for each of the crocs caught dead or alive.

In Bangkok, where waters have started to recede, only Dusit zoo was located in the pathway of the floods, said Pimuk Simaroj of the Thai Zoological Park Organisation in WAZA's statement.

Most of the animals from there have been moved to higher ground within the park, while about 30 animals, mostly deer, were relocated to another nearby zoo.

"As the flooding continues to spread to lower elevations, we believe there will be more translocations of wildlife needed in the coming weeks," said Pimuk.

WAZA, which arranged the relief action and whose members include more than 1,300 of the world's leading zoos and aquariums, said it was ready to send more assistance from regional countries to Thailand if it is needed.

Thailand's natural resource ministry has dedicated a hotline for people wanting to report wild animals on the loose in flooded areas.

Hong Kong seizes record haul of rhino horns
Hong Kong (AFP) Nov 15, 2011 - Hong Kong Customs officers have seized a record haul of 33 rhino horns along with ivory chopsticks and bracelets hidden inside a container shipped from South Africa, officials said Tuesday.

Officers found the horns along with 758 ivory chopsticks and 127 ivory bracelets in a haul worth a total of about HK$17.4 million ($2.2 million) during a search Monday of a container declared as containing "scrap plastic".

Senior Customs official Lam Tak-fai told RTHK radio the horns were carefully wrapped in multiple layers of materials and hidden in the rear of the container.

"We think the smugglers wanted to make it look like waste plastic material so as to evade Customs detection," he said, adding the haul was believed to have been destined for a neighbouring country.

Lam said rhino horns had been seized in Hong Kong in the past but never in such large quantities.

"Altogether we have 86.54 kilograms of rhino horns, it's a record seizure so far in Customs history," he said.

Conservation group WWF said earlier this month that rhino poaching in South Africa had hit a record high, with 341 of the animals lost to poachers so far this year as black-market demand for their horns soars.

Officials blame the poaching surge on organised crime syndicates selling rhino horn for use in Asian medicinal treatments -- especially in Vietnam, where it is believed to cure cancer.

The UN wildlife trade regulator has called for stiffer penalties for poachers, with the price of a rhino horn per kilo fetching around $50,000 ($23,000 per pound).

Under Hong Kong law, anyone found guilty of importing endangered species for commercial purposes is liable to a maximum fine of HK$5 million and two years' imprisonment.

No one has been arrested so far and Lam said the investigation was continuing.