The Ho Chi Minh City Forest Protection Department on Monday reported receiving an injured Javan pangolin weighing five kilograms from a local resident who discovered the endangered animal at a vacant land lot in Thu Duc City.

Nguyen Viet Thuan, who found and caught the rare animal, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that he and two of his co-workers were heading to dinner when they spotted an animal crawling on the ground at a empty land plot in Long Truong Ward.

At first, they mistook it for a weasel.

But on closer inspection, they realized it was a pangolin, a rare and endangered species in Vietnam.

Thuan captured the pangolin and took it to the Ho Chi Minh City Forest Protection Department, hoping it would be cared for and eventually released back into the wild.

After receiving the animal, the municipal department identified it as a male Javan pangolin, also known as Manis javanica.

Classified as rare and endangered, the pangolin weighs some five kilograms.

The animal suffers injuries on its forehead and belly, said a forest ranger.

Last Sunday, the municipal Forest Protection Department also received a reticulated python from Vo Tan Dat, who resides in Binh Tri Dong A Ward, Binh Tan District.

The python, weighing about 3.2 kilograms, is categorized as a rare and endangered animal.

Dat said that the reptile was captured on a vacant lot down an alley near his house.

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