On April 28, 2026, the Management Board of My Son World Cultural Heritage, in coordination with the Inter-communal Forest Protection Sub-department of Area 3, received one slow loris voluntarily surrendered by a local resident to the People’s Committee of Dai Loc Commune. Following the handover, the competent authorities conducted a health assessment, completed all required legal procedures, and released the animal back into a suitable natural forest habitat.
The rescued individual was identified as a pygmy slow loris, scientifically known as Xanthonycticebus pygmaeus (Nycticebus pygmaeus), belonging to the order Primates. This is a rare and precious wild species of exceptional value for biodiversity conservation and is afforded the highest level of legal protection under Vietnamese law.
Earlier, on December 29, 2025, the Management Board of My Son World Cultural Heritage also coordinated with relevant authorities to receive another slow loris voluntarily surrendered by a local resident to the Division of Economy, Infrastructure and Urban Affairs under the People’s Committee of Dien Ban Dong Ward. After a period of care and health assessment, that individual was also safely released back into the wild.
The pygmy slow loris (Xanthonycticebus pygmaeus) is an exceptionally rare and endangered wild species, currently classified as Endangered (EN) in both the Vietnam Red Data Book and the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This classification indicates that the species faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild and requires urgent conservation priority.
In Vietnam, the pygmy slow loris is listed in Group IB — the category of endangered, precious, and rare species prioritized for strict protection — under Circular No. 85/2025/TT-BNNMT dated December 31, 2025, issued by the Minister of Agriculture and Environment on the management of endangered, precious, and rare species, common forest fauna, and the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). In addition, the species is listed in Appendix I of CITES under Notice No. 25/TB-CTVN dated February 17, 2023, issued by the Vietnam CITES Management Authority.
Under Vietnamese law, all acts of hunting, killing, keeping, confining, transporting, or illegally trading slow lorises are strictly prohibited and subject to severe penalties. Depending on the nature and severity of the violation, offenders may face criminal prosecution with penalties of up to 15 years’ imprisonment under Article 244 of the 2015 Criminal Code, as amended and supplemented in 2017.
The repeated rescue, rehabilitation, and release of slow lorises in recent times not only reflects a strong sense of community responsibility in wildlife protection, but also demonstrates the effective coordination among the Management Board of My Son World Cultural Heritage, forest rangers, and local authorities in biodiversity conservation.
In the coming time, the Management Board of My Son World Cultural Heritage will continue to strengthen public communication and awareness-raising efforts, calling on local communities to actively participate in wildlife protection, promptly report sightings, and voluntarily hand over wild animals to competent authorities when discovered, thereby contributing to ecosystem preservation and the safeguarding of invaluable natural heritage.
28 April,2026
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