The rescue began at around 5.30 pm on May 29, when Pham Van Phuong, a resident of Trieu Binh Commune, spotted a net bag lying in the middle of a road while returning home from work.
Inside the bag was a large monitor lizard.
Recognising it as a protected wild animal, Phuong secured the reptile and took it to the police station in Quang Tri Ward, hoping it could be rescued and returned safely to its natural habitat.
Police later transferred the animal to local forest rangers for care and health monitoring before its eventual release into the wild.
According to forestry officials, the reptile was identified as a clouded monitor lizard (Varanus nebulosus), weighing about 1.7 kilogrammes.
The species is classified under Group IB, a category of endangered, rare and protected wildlife that receives the highest level of protection under Vietnamese law.