A total of 2,176 butterflies were found dead in three mailboxes by the forest police in Kunming on August 13.

They have been disinfected and buried in the earth at Yunnan Wild Animal Park. “These butterflies have been dead. Being buried deeply may help avoid the harm to the local plants.” said a worker in the park.

Three cartons marked with "Chinese medicinal herb" were mailed from Wenshan prefecture in Yunnan to Beijing. The delivery was not allowed by the laws in the province . The cartons only showed the address of sender, recipient and a telephone number that failed to get through.

All the butterflies are dead. Concerning about virus in the butterflies, the staff of Yunnan Wild Animal Park buried all of them.

According to the protection rules of wild animals in Yunnan, it's illegal to purchase, sell, process, deliver or mail wild animals. The illegal behavior will be fined at the price of less than ten times of the real worth of the animals.

Now, the case is under further investigation.