A male stump-tailed macaque, or Macaca arctoides, has been released into the wild of the Ba Na-Nui Chua nature reserve after undergoing nine days of treatment at the central city-based Truong Son Viet veterinary clinic.

A male stump-tailed macaque is leased into the Ba Na-Nui Chua nature reserve
after treatment at Da Nang city's Truong Son Viet veterinary clinic

A source from the Douc Langur Foundation said the monkey, which was listed in Vietnam's Red Book in 2000 as a vulnerable species (VU) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), was hit by a car in the Son Tra nature reserve 11 days ago.

It was then rescued by volunteers and rangers of the Son Tra-Ngu Hanh Son sub-department.

The foundation said the monkey, which would had been in captivity for a long time at a household, was found seeking food from visitors in Son Tra Nature reserve.

Bui Thanh Lang, a volunteer and photographer in Da Nang, said a resident, who captured the monkey as a pet, had released it into the Son Tra reserve, but it was not the usual habitat of the monkey.

He said the 7kg monkey could not seek food in Son Tra reserve, and it collected food from visitors. Some conflicts between the monkey and visitors had happened days before.

The Ba Na-Nui Chua Nature Reserve was home to several stump-tailed macaques.

Two monkeys had been rescued and released by rangers in September and October.