Authorities in Cat Tien National Park said Monday the park would be expanded by more than 10,000 hectares of natural forest, creating more habitats for endangered animals.

The uninhabited forest in Dong Nai Province's Dinh Quan District is around 26 kilometers long.

Nguyen Van Dien, director of the park, told online newspaper Dan Tri that the forest was handed over to the park by a local forestry company that was unable to manage it.

It was good news for conservationists since the new area would provide habitats for endangered animals like the Asian elephant, gaur or wild ox, black-shanked douc, and yellow-cheeked gibbon.

Recognized as a world biosphere by the UNESCO in 2011, Cat Tien is home to 1,700 rare plants and more than 700 species of animals and birds, including many endangered ones. 

It spreads over 966,563 hectares in three provinces, but 80 percent including the core is in Dong Nai.