Human association with banteng could date back several millennia, as suggested by animal remains and art discovered in caves. As of 2016, Bali cattle comprise nearly 25% of the Indonesian cattle population (2.45 million out of the total 9.8 million). They are also used as draught animals to a limited extent; banteng are reportedly less efficient than
zebu in dragging carts on roads, though they are suitable for agricultural work. However, banteng produce little milk; they lactate for only six to ten months, and the daily produce is just . They are also vulnerable to diseases such as bovine malignant catarrhal fever. In 1964, an outbreak of an unidentified disease, locally known as "
jembrana", wiped out 10–60% of domesticated banteng populations in several areas in Bali; similar but less intense outbreaks have continued in the following years.
In Australia Domesticated banteng were first introduced to Australia in 1849 with the establishment of a British military outpost called
Port Essington on
Cobourg Peninsula. Twenty animals were taken to the western
Arnhem Land, in present-day Northern Territory, as a source of meat. A year after the outpost's establishment, poor conditions including crop failure and tropical disease led to its abandonment. On the departure of British troops, the banteng were released from their grazing pastures and allowed to form a feral population. By the 1960s, researchers realised that a population of about 1,500 individuals had developed in the tropical forests of Cobourg Peninsula. As of 2007, around 8,000–10,000 feral banteng occur in Australia, mainly in
Garig Gunak Barlu National Park (Cobourg Peninsula, Northern Territory). In a survey published in 1990, the population density in the forests was found to be around , close to that on their initial introduction 140 years ago. Australian banteng are considered a non-native
vermin species, as they reportedly trample and destroy vegetation cover by overgrazing, and sometimes harm and kill people who may closely approach them. Moreover, banteng can transmit lethal diseases such as
brucellosis to humans as well as other cattle. As such banteng are occasionally shot to bring down their numbers in Australia, but some have expressed concern about their conservation given the decline in banteng populations outside the country. In a study in the
monsoon forests of Garig Gunak Barlu National Park, banteng were found to cause little damage by overgrazing, especially when compared with
feral pigs in the region. Instead, grazing by banteng possibly minimises potential dry grass build-up, thus limiting encroachment of seasonal fires (hence postfire grassland) into monsoonal forest areas, and this may help with the
dispersal and
germination of seeds. While all hybrids with zebu are fertile, the male hybrids resulting from a cross with
taurine cattle are sterile.
As symbol '' in the 1920s , with the banteng's head in top-left Certain elements in the Indonesian independent movements proposed it to be part of the Indonesian flag before the 1939 decided in favour of the
plain red-and-white flag. The banteng's head appears as one of the five emblems in the
shield of
Indonesia's coat-of-arms, "Garuda Pancasila". The emblem appears on the top-left of the shield, representing the fourth principle of the Indonesian five-point state philosophy (
Pancasila), "Democracy that is Guided by the Inner Wisdom in the Unanimity Arising Out of Deliberations Amongst Representatives". A number of political parties in the country used the banteng's head as its symbol, including the
Indonesian National Party (of President
Sukarno), the
Indonesian Democratic Party, and the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (of Presidents
Megawati Sukarnoputri and
Joko Widodo).
Threats and conservation The wild banteng is classified as
Critically Endangered on the
IUCN Red List, and populations have decreased by more than 50% in the past few decades. In 2008, the IUCN estimated the global banteng population at 5,000–8,000 individuals. Rampant poaching (for food, game,
traditional medicine and horns), habitat loss and
fragmentation and susceptibility to disease are major threats throughout the range. Most populations throughout the range are small and isolated. Banteng are legally protected in all countries in their range, and are largely restricted to protected areas. Surveys in the following years (up to 2016) in these sanctuaries and adjacent areas (such as the
Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary) gave an approximate total of 4,600 individuals. Recent updates to these surveys suggest widespread collapse of these populations. The
Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary population is estimated in have decline rapididly from 382 in 2010, with too few recorded in 2020 to produce a population estimate. Populations in
Sre Pok Wildlife Sanctuary and
Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary have declined from around 1000 in each site in 2010 to only 370 and 485 respectively in 2020. The only populations of more than 50 individuals in Thailand occur in the
Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary and possibly in the
Kaeng Krachan National Park. In East Java, a survey between 2011 and 2013 recorded rapid decline in populations in the Baluran National Park, though the numbers appeared to be stable in the Meru Betiri National Park; the researchers identified poaching, habitat disturbance, competition with other species, changes in vegetation cover and habitat loss as major threats. In Borneo numbers have fallen in areas like Kalimantan and Sabah, mainly due to poaching and human disturbance. The steepest decline (by more than 50%) took place between 1970 and 2000 due to deforestation and conversion of forests into plantations. Minor populations have been reported from areas such as
Kulamba Wildlife Reserve, Deramakot Forest Reserve and Sipitang Forest Reserve during 2009–2015; individuals might still occur in the Belantikan Hulu region (
Central Kalimantan),
Kayan Mentarang National Park (
North Kalimantan) and
Kutai National Park (East Kalimantan). These corridors would serve to mitigate some of the harmful impacts of habitat fragmentation, such as the diminished
biodiversity,
inbreeding, and decreased
genetic diversity that often occur in isolated populations. Monitoring and maintenance of habitat quality, law enforcement, and management of
human–wildlife conflicts are needed in these areas to ensure the long-term survival of this species. Scientists at
Advanced Cell Technology in
Worcester, Massachusetts extracted DNA from skin cells of a dead male banteng, that were preserved in the
San Diego Zoo's cryobank
Frozen Zoo facility, and transferred it into
eggs from domestic banteng cows, a process called
somatic cell nuclear transfer. Thirty
embryos were created and sent to
Trans Ova Genetics, where they were implanted in domestic banteng cows. Two were carried to term and delivered by
Caesarian section. The first was born on 1 April 2003, and the second two days later. The second was
euthanised, apparently suffering from large offspring syndrome (an
overgrowth disorder), but the first survived and lived for seven years at the San Diego Zoo, where it died in April 2010 after it broke a leg and was euthanised. ==References==