Endangered wild cattle face multiple threats

A group of banteng caught on camera at an improvised specimen imaging station at Danau Girang Field Centre. — CHRISTIAN FREUND

KOTA KINABALU: A study has found that the endangered Bornean banteng (wild cattle) is highly threatened by habitat loss, fragmentation and heavy poaching.

Dr Penny Gardner, lead author and programme manager of banteng research at Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC), said logging and high temperatures affect the banteng by limiting their activity and influencing how they use the habitat.

“We monitored locations created by timber harvesting, such as abandoned roads and dense forest in reserves that were logged six, 17 and 23 years ago,” she explained.

Dr Gardner said the study showed that recently-logged forests were hotter for longer than forests that had regenerated for more years.

“High temperatures can suppress plant growth, slow forest regeneration, and increase the risk of forest fires.

“Banteng reduce activity and avoid degraded areas during hot hours in recently-logged forest, possibly to avoid thermal stress, which can be fatal,” she added.

Dr Gardner concluded by saying that banteng continue to be active in the forest throughout the day with more regrowth because it offered more shade and refuge.

Meanwhile, DGFC director Dr Benoit Goossens, who is also Reader at Cardiff University, said previous studies found that banteng in mature forest were thinner.

“If forage is limited, the banteng may be drawn to forest boundaries that have more grass, but also have a higher risk of mortality, because they are encroached by hunters.

“Steps taken to reduce stress upon banteng could include limiting disturbance during key times of activity and maintaining blocks of mature forest,” he noted.

Dr Goossens said such recommendations will be outlined in the Banteng Action Plan, which is currently being drafted.

The study — conducted by DGFC, Cardiff University, Sabah Wildlife Department and Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research — used camera traps to study the behaviour and habitat use of banteng in three secondary forests in Sabah that were logged at different times.

The research was supported by Houston Zoo, Malaysian Palm Oil Council, Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, Woodland Park Zoo, Yayasan Sime Darby, the Federal Education Ministry and Research, Zoo Leipzig, and the now-defunct SOS Rhino.