A jogger in Ho Chi Minh City carried a rare turtle to people who could help

A jogger who spotted a turtle in a city canal chose to hand it over instead of keeping it. DTiNews reported on October 21, 2026, that Tran Van Chung found the animal on October 17 while running near Street 23 in Tam Binh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City. It was crawling in the canal. He brought it ashore and took it to the ward police because he thought it might be a protected species.

Police worked with the ward infrastructure office and, on October 21, transferred the turtle to city forest rangers for care. A first identification called it a male Asian leaf turtle, Heosemys annandalii, weighing about 7 kilograms. In Vietnam that species is listed in group IIB, the category for endangered and rare forest animals that are protected. The paper said the rangers would handle the turtle under the rules, with release back to the wild as the aim once that care is done. The release itself had not been reported.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Thai, deputy chief of the ward police, said the handoff was the kind of call the ward wants residents to make. Police asked people who find a wild animal to ask the authorities what to do next, and not to keep, sell, or move protected wildlife on their own.