HCMC - A two-year biodiversity survey has confirmed the presence of four endangered animal species in the Than Sa - Phuong Hoang Nature Reserve in the northern province of Thai Nguyen.

• Releasing animals back into the wild
• Can Tho protects 2,800-hectare nature reserve

The newly recorded species include the pygmy slow loris (Nycticebus pygmaeus), Northern pig-tailed macaque (Macaca leonina), forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii), and spotted linsang (Prionodon pardicolor). According to the Thai Nguyen Special-Use and Protection Forest Management Board, all the four species are classified as endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species and are strictly protected under Vietnamese law. This discovery brings the total number of animal species in the reserve to 350, including 63 rare and endangered species. These findings highlight the significant biodiversity value of the limestone forest ecosystem and its importance to national conservation efforts. To ensure their long-term survival, local authorities have intensified patrols, collaborated with buffer zone communities, and called for more extensive 3-to-5-year monitoring programs to better understand and protect these rare primates and mammals.