The Forest Protection Department said a pangolin and a baby grey-shanked douc langur were sent to non-profit organization Save Vietnam's Wildlife (SVW) Tuesday and later transferred to the Cuc Phuong National Park in Ninh Binh Province, 90 kilometers (50 miles) south of Hanoi.

Forest rangers said the endangered animals were bought from a poacher by local residents who felt sorry for the two small animals separated from their mothers. The residents were not aware that the animals belonged to two endangered species and voluntarily handed them over to the authorities.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to draft a law banning wildlife trade.

The pangolin and grey-shanked douc are both protected animals in Vietnam. Six of eight pangolin species in the world are listed as endangered or critically endangered by the IUCN and two others as vulnerable.

Between 2017 and 2019 around 16 tonnes of pangolin scales were offered for sale in Vietnam to undercover Wildlife Justice Commission investigators. Last year, Vietnam seized the largest volume of scales, surpassing Nigeria, the main export hub.

The grey-shanked douc langur is native to several provinces in central Vietnam. Hunting, deforestation and habitat defragmentation have driven them to be listed as critically endangered by IUCN.