Nguyen Duc Toan, deputy head of the Ham Thuan Bac Forest Protection Department, said the animal, classified as endangered under Vietnamese law, had been received, examined and returned to its natural habitat.
The loris was handed over by Tran Van Anh, head of a residential quarter in Phan Thiet Ward, and local resident Phan Thuan Thai.
Late on February 26, while patrolling security at the Phan Thiet fishing port project area, the two men heard dogs barking aggressively and discovered the small primate surrounded in nearby bushes. They drove the dogs away and secured the animal before notifying authorities.
The pygmy slow loris (Nycticebus pygmaeus) is listed in Group IB, which covers endangered and rare forest species given priority protection under Vietnamese regulations. After a health check by forest rangers, the animal was released back into the wild.
