Nguyen Huu Duy, deputy head of the Quy Chau Forest Protection Department, said the adult pangolin, weighing about 2 kilogrammes, was released into the Pu Huong Nature Reserve on May 6.
The animal was discovered in the garden of a local resident in Hung Chan Commune on the evening of May 4.
Recognising it as a protected wild species, the family voluntarily handed the pangolin over to local authorities and police the following day for transfer to forest rangers.
After receiving the animal, officials coordinated with local authorities to monitor and care for it before carrying out health checks.
The pangolin was found to be in stable condition with no signs of injury or weakness and was later released into the reserve’s protected forest area, authorities said.
Pangolins, among the world’s most heavily trafficked mammals, are protected under Vietnamese and international law and play an important ecological role by controlling insect populations such as ants and termites.
The species is listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as critically endangered.
Pu Huong Nature Reserve, part of western Nghe An’s UNESCO-recognised biosphere reserve, spans nearly 46,500 hectares and is home to hundreds of rare animal and plant species listed in Vietnam’s Red Book, the IUCN Red List and CITES.
