The lost golden mountain turtle and pangolin were discovered by local people and immediately handed over to the police.

tê tê - Ảnh 1. — Representatives of Dong Thanh Ward Police handed over the golden mountain turtle and pangolin to the forest rangers - Photo: Vinh Long Police

On October 16, information from Dong Thanh Ward Police, Vinh Long Province said that they had just coordinated to receive and hand over a golden mountain turtle and a pangolin to the Vinh Long Provincial Forest Protection Department.

Previously, on the afternoon of October 12, Ms. Duong Thi Kim Lien (27 years old, residing in Dong Thuan hamlet, Dong Thanh ward) discovered a 0.8kg turtle while cleaning around her house. After investigating, realizing that this was a rare wild animal, Ms. Lien proactively brought the golden mountain turtle to Dong Thanh ward police station to report and hand it over.

On the same day, Mr. Son Thanh Hoang (33 years old, residing in Hoa Thanh 2 hamlet, Dong Thanh ward) discovered and caught a pangolin weighing 3.7 kg while gardening. Realizing that this was a rare wild animal, Mr. Hoang also voluntarily handed the pangolin over.

After receiving the turtle, Dong Thanh Ward Police coordinated with local authorities to check the health of the turtle and pangolin, then handed them over to the forest rangers to release them into the wild, contributing to biodiversity conservation.

According to the Vinh Long Provincial Forest Protection Department, the golden mountain turtle is listed as a group IIB endangered and rare forest animal, while the pangolin is listed as a group IB endangered and rare forest animal; it is in the critically endangered group according to the classification of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This is an animal species that is strictly prohibited by law from being hunted, kept in captivity, transported and traded illegally.