A wild cattle, banteng, was successfully herded by a helicopter in an effort to relocate them to a wildlife sanctuary in May, AFP reported in an article shared on Phys.org.
Banteng look similar to cows in many ways, but unlike our domesticated cattle, they're critically endangered according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List. They're native to Southeast Asia and found in both forests and grasslands.
Unfortunately, these forests are rapidly disappearing. In Cambodia, where the most recent group of banteng was discovered, 33% of the forest cover has been cut down since 2000 for development with the government's approval. Hunting, logging, and industry all play a role in turning the banteng's natural habitat into human territory, leaving only a few thousand banteng in the wild.
The 16 banteng in question were found in the wild in an area that was not deemed ideal for them. They needed to be relocated, so conservation groups Rising Phoenix and Siem Pang created a "mass-capture funnel trap" and spent three days herding the animals into it and onto a truck, using a helicopter to guide them.
Because this method turned out to be a successful "significant achievement," it "opens the way for further such operations to relocate banteng trapped in isolated forest patches elsewhere in the country," the groups said, per AFP.
Once on the truck, the banteng were relocated to the Siem Pang Wildlife Sanctuary, where they will be monitored.
Gathering these endangered animals in a wildlife sanctuary has several benefits. It allows them to connect with other members of their species for safety in numbers and healthier reproductive opportunities, hopefully leading to a more stable population over time. It also means they're on protected land, so they're less likely to be hunted or harmed because of deforestation in the long run. Ultimately, they could be part of the effort to preserve the species and one day recover from deforestation.
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