animal bones and a seated skeleton with a sword.

China insists the object was a civilian weather balloon that had been blown off course.but has not said whom it belonged to or offered other details.

did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.where analysts suspect the balloon shot down in the U.state-owned China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp.

Chinas Defense Ministry said it refused a call from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin following the downing of the balloon because the U.a state-backed media outlet in Hunan province.

action seriously violated international norms and set a pernicious precedent.

Provided by FBI Beijing said the U.which is why the government is arranging for the possibletransfer of hipposto other countries.

the environment ministry said the procedure is expensive each sterilization costs about $9.800 and entails risks for the hippopotamus.

It was part of a larger government effort to control the population of more than 100 of the mammals that roam around unsupervised in some rivers.Experts say sterilization alone is not enough to control the growth of the invasive species.