Two Belgian teenagers found with 5,000 ants in Kenya have been fined $7,700 or the option to serve 12 months in prison for violating wildlife conservation laws.

A Kenyan court on Wednesday fined four men $7,700 each for trying to traffic thousands of ants valuable to the country's ecosystem, in cases experts say signal a shift in biopiracy from trophies like elephant ivory to lesser-known species.

NAIROBI (Reuters) - A Kenyan court on Wednesday fined four men $7,700 each for attempting to traffic thousands of ants out of the country, in a case that wildlife experts say signals a shift in biopiracy from iconic animals like elephants to lesser-known species.