A pygmy slow loris, an endangered species of primates, was caught stealing bananas in a farmer’s field last week in southwest China’s Yunnan Province, and was set free after examination.

A local farmer in Yunnan’s Jinping County of Honghe Prefecture recently found several bite marks on his ripe bananas, and on the night of July 16, he discovered the thief – a small animal that looks like a monkey. The farmer placed the animal in a rabbit cage, and called local police for help.

Police and experts from the Jinping County Forest Public Security Bureau identified the animal as a pygmy slow loris, a rare animal under first-class state protection in China. After carefully examining the animal, the police found it in good health. They later set the loris free in the nearby Fenshuiling Nature Reserve.

(Cover image via VCG.)

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