Two men were arrested after police found a protected red panda in their vehicle during a road stop near the Myanmar border in Tak province and they could not produce a permit legalising possession.
The red panda - also known as a bear cat or lesser panda - was found when their pickup was stopped for a search on Friday at a police checkpoint in Mae Sot district, the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department said in a social media post on Monday.
The two men could not show documents authorising them to keep the red panda and were taken to Mae Sot police station and charged with illegal possession of protected wildlife.
Red pandas are at the top of the Cites list (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), meaning they are strictly banned from commercial trade and at threat of extinction.
Offenders face maximum penalties of 10 years in prison and/or a 1 million baht fine.
The rescued animal showed evident signs of stress and fatigue and was clearly panicked, the department said. It was now in the good care of the Mae Sot wildlife inspection checkpoint.