The Ho Chi Minh City Forest Protection Department announced on Saturday that it had coordinated with Bu Gia Map National Park in the southern province of Binh Phuoc to release a Javan pangolin and four baby pygmy slow lorises back into the wild.

The Javan pangolin, scientifically known as Manis javanica, and the pygmy slow loris, or Nycticebus pygmaeus, are classified as endangered species in group IB on Vietnam’s government list of rare and endangered wildlife prioritized for protection.

In December 2023, police in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City transferred the Javan pangolin as evidence related to a case to the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens in District 1 for care and preservation.

A Javan pangolin is released back into the wild at Bu Gia Map National Park in Binh Phuoc Province, southern Vietnam. Screenshot taken from supplied video

According to a health assessment conducted on Wednesday, a representative from the Saigon Zoo confirmed that the Javan pangolin exhibited normal mobility and good overall health.

On the same day, the District 10 police unit decided to transfer the Javan pangolin from the zoo to the Ho Chi Minh City Forest Protection Department for its release into the wild.

Four baby pygmy slow lorises are released back into the wild at Bu Gia Map National Park in Binh Phuoc Province, southern Vietnam. Screenshot taken from supplied video

The pangolin was released in Bu Gia Map National Park alongside four baby lorises that local residents had voluntarily surrendered to the Forest Protection Department. 

Among these were a male and female pair of baby lorises, handed over by Nguyen Thi Thuy Nga from Ward 28, Binh Thanh District, in May. 

According to a forest ranger, upon their release in Bu Gia Map National Park, both the Javan pangolin and the baby lorises were in good health and successfully adapted to their natural surroundings.

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