The recorded specimen is believed to have originated from a mountain range within the Hoàng Liên National Park in the Lào Cai Province.

Although Björkegren initially recorded the location of the specimen as in close proximity Sa Pa, it has been concluded by Abramov that the point of origin was more likely to have been from Seo My Ty to the southwest of the town.

It remains possible that concentrations of the population still exist within the higher altitude areas of the Indochina Peninsula, as there is no evidence that, despite extensive land clearing in the region, the weasel is in any way dependent on the temperate forest ecosystem.

Despite surveys between 2005 and 2012 which involved numerous discussions with the local Hmong people and forest rangers, no supplementary sightings of the weasel have been reported to date.

[citation needed] The weasel is believed to be located within a region where hunting in all forms is relatively intense, and it is therefore tenable to suggest that the species may be in decline.