2. The legend that was Galileo

One of racing’s greats, Galileo beat just about every other horse he went up against in 2001, winning the Group 1 Epsom Derby, the Irish Derby, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Royal Ascot. After an unsuccessful attempt to win the Breeder’s Cup in the US, he was retired and put to stud, where his penchant for breaking records continued.

As a ”shuttle stallion”, he was transported between the Coolmore Stud’s operations in Ireland and Australia, garnering around HK$356 million a year in fees. That made him the most expensive stud horse in history – and very precious cargo. Cathay Pacific’s current Chief Boeing Pilot, Captain Stu Baker, remembers flying him in the early 2000s. “He was travelling back from Australia with eight other stallions to Ireland via Hong Kong,” he says. “Collectively, they were worth more than the Boeing 747 freighter they were flying on.” 

After 2006, Galileo remained in Ireland. By the time of his death in 2021, his progeny included 338 stakes winners, 228 of which were group winners.

3. Yakalla, the leopard that changed her spot

Yakalla, a precious Sri Lankan leopard, was en route to Australia when she passed through the Cathay Cargo Terminal in 2019. Previously resident at a zoo in France, she was being transported to the National Zoo & Aquarium, Canberra, which operates a breeding programme for these endangered creatures.

Having travelled in the hold of a passenger flight from Paris, Yakalla was brought to the large animal reception centre in the Cathay Cargo Terminal, where Jayne Weller, Senior Veterinarian at the National Zoo, was waiting to check on her. Weller had requested a lower temperature to make sure Yakalla was healthy and wouldn’t get dehydrated before she embarked on the final leg of her journey: a flight to Sydney and road trip to Canberra. On arrival, and after quarantine, Yakalla was slowly introduced to her potential mate, Ankesh, at the zoo. The pair soon became inseparable and Yakalla gave birth to two healthy male cubs on Christmas Eve in 2020, helping secure the future of her species. 

4. The birds and the bees

Not all significant animal shipments are apex predators or main deck occupants. Bees and day-old chicks have long been air cargo staples. 

Back in the early 2000s, the US was facing the loss of its honeybees due to a range of environmental and man-made factors. That led the California almond industry to jump through many hoops to import bees from Australia to try to restore colonies and pollinate the trees for this valuable crop. Today, Australia’s largest export market for bees is Canada. Meanwhile, day-old chicks remain a regular yet fragile air cargo shipment. Bulk movements enable consignee farms to start chicken or egg production, and chickens are best transported as newly hatched chicks. This is because they are sustained by the yolk in their shells, giving them a three-day window for export – provided stringent ventilation and temperature requirements (between 18-24oC) are met on board.   

5. Alpacas prove that good things come to people who wait

It’s not easy being the first to import an animal species into a destination, as Raymond Cheng, General Manager of Go Green Organic Farm’s Pineapple Farm, came to learn when he wanted to introduce some alpacas to the New Territories attraction. “No one had previously applied to import this animal,” he says. It took 18 months and 300 emails with various authorities to secure the paperwork. The flight itself was the easy bit, as alpacas are good travellers. 

Finally, at the end of 2019, Cathay Cargo flew in Hong Kong’s first alpacas from Perth in the hold of Cathay Pacific’s daily passenger flight. “Cathay Cargo called me to say the animals were on their way, and they were really helpful in advising what sort of truck I’d need to transfer their crate to the farm,” says Cheng. “When I got there, the alpacas were sitting peacefully in their crate. We gave them some food at the airport, and they ate. That was a special moment for me.”