In a ceremony in Bangkok, Thai authorities transferred the 961 healthy animals over to members of the Malagasy Department of National Parks

Thailand is sending almost 1,000 highly endangered tortoises and lemurs home to Madagascar in a landmark victory against animal trafficking, with the first batch on its way on Saturday.

Madagascar has launched an operation to repatriate more than 1,000 endangered lemurs and tortoises, seven months after Thai authorities seized them from wildlife traffickers. Officials are calling it the largest return of trafficked species in the island nation's history.

Thailand has gradually returned confiscated wild animals to Madagascar, a total of 961 animals, including 16 ring-tailed lemurs, 31 brown lemurs, 759 spider tortoises and 155 radiated tortoises.

In the historic repatriation of animals, Thailand sends around 1,000 highly endangered tortoises and lemurs back to their home in Madagascar.According to CNN, after a landmark victory against animal trafficking,

Thailand is sending almost 1,000 highly endangered lemurs and tortoises back to their home in Madagascar, in what both countries called their biggest ever operation against wildlife trafficking.

Several dozen lemurs and more than 900 tortoises endemic to Madagascar that were trafficked to Thailand will be returned home this week, the Indian Ocean island-nation’s Environment Ministry said.