In late 2008, the Forest Protection Division in Vinh Long Province rescued the animal from a private household, where it was being illegally kept.  It was later sent to the centre's Wildlife Rescue Station for rehabilitation, according to Nguyen Chuong, deputy director of the centre.

Chuong said the rescue station for large cats in Cat Tien National Park offered better facilities for rehabilitation of leopards before they are released into the wild.

In late 2006, the Forest Protection Division in HCM City set up the rescue station with financial and technical assistance from the HCM City-based nonprofit organization Wildlife at Risk (WAR).

The station, the first of its kind in southern Vietnam, has rescued more than 2,000 animals of nearly 40 endangered species, including pangolins, turtles, gibbons and lorises. Animals in good health have been released into the wild.

VNA