On October 29, the Duc Tho Forest Protection Unit handed the tortoises over to Vu Quang National Park for care and eventual release into the wild.
The pair were found at Dai An Temple on the afternoon of October 27. Following a report by the temple’s management, local authorities and forest rangers inspected the site and confirmed both animals were healthy, active and uninjured.
The tortoises found at Dai An Temple in Ha Tinh (Photo by Van Nguyen)
The impressed tortoise, of the family Testudinidae, is a rare terrestrial species native to humid tropical and montane forests across Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.
It is listed as vulnerable in Vietnam’s Red Data Book and as a threatened species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
In Vietnam, it is protected under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment's Group IIB regulations, which prohibit hunting and trade.
