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The officials also found this stuffed crocodile
Photo: - / picture alliance/dpa/Guardia Civil
The Spanish police have discovered 1090 stuffed animals in a huge warehouse near Valencia.
The Civil Guard said it was the largest private collection of its kind ever found in Spain.
A total of 405 of the animals belonged to protected species, it was said.
The animals were found in a 50,000 square meter hall, presented as in a museum.
According to the police, the exhibits included elephants, rhinos, polar bears, leopards, lions, lynx and crocodiles.
There are also animals that are extinct in the wild, such as the African saber antelope and highly endangered species such as the Bengal tiger.
198 elephant tusks were also secured.
Most of the animals are said to be "inherited."
Why the huge collection in the small town of Bétera, about 20 kilometers north-west of Valencia, was only discovered now remains unknown.
The police also did not provide any information about the owner.
An investigation had been launched against him for smuggling and violating laws protecting endangered species, it said.
It will now be checked where the animals came from.
The owner stated that he had inherited most of the animals from his father, wrote the newspaper Las Provincias.
The police put the black market value of the collection at almost 30 million euros.
flg/dpa