Lagu Banteng Banteng

Domestication and uses

The banteng was domesticated in Indonesian islands of Java or Bali probably around 3,500 BC. The domesticated population consists of mainly the Bali cattle in Indonesia.[18][29] As of 2016, Bali cattle comprise nearly 25% of the Indonesian cattle population (2.45 million out of the total 9.8 million).[18] Domesticated banteng are docile and can tolerate hot, humid weather. Moreover, they can thrive and maintain their normal body weights even on poor quality fodder. They are primarily used for their highly demanded meat, that has been described as lean and soft.[17][30] 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.[31] However, banteng produce little milk; they lactate for only six to ten months, and the daily produce is just 0.9–2.8 kg (2.0–6.2 lb). 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.[17] The disease was later determined to be caused by a lentivirus.[32]

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.[33] By the 1960s, researchers realised that a population of about 1,500 individuals had developed in the tropical forests of Cobourg Peninsula.[34] As of 2007, around 8,000–10,000 feral banteng occur in Australia, mainly in Garig Gunak Barlu National Park (Cobourg Peninsula, Northern Territory).[35][36] In a survey published in 1990, the population density in the forests was found to be around 70/km2 (180/sq mi), close to that on their initial introduction 140 years ago.[37]

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.[38][39] 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.[40] 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.[37]

Domesticated banteng have been hybridised with other types of cattle. Madura cattle, found in Java, are fertile hybrids of banteng and zebu. A small breed, the bulls weigh between 250 and 300 kg (550 and 660 lb) and the cows weigh 150 kg (330 lb). They are used in local traditional events such as bull racing and cow beauty contests. Other hybrids include Donggala, Galekan and Java Brebes (Jabres) cattle.[41][42] While all hybrids with zebu are fertile, the male hybrids resulting from a cross with taurine cattle are sterile.[2] A program to cross-breed domestic and wild banteng began in June 2011, resulting in five pregnancies. This was intended to help improve the quality and productivity of the domesticated breed. The wild bulls were transported from the Baluran National Park in Situbondo.[43]

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.[44]

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).[45][46]

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.[2]

Most other populations are small and fragmented, and many are on the decline. Surveys in eastern Cambodia between 2009 and 2011 estimated the total population in Sre Pok Wildlife Sanctuary and Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary at 1,980–5,170 individuals.[47] 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.[48] 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.[49][50]

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.[2] A survey between 2000 and 2003 in Java identified four to five significant populations, with the highest numbers in the Ujung Kulon National Park (300–800 individuals), the Baluran National Park (206 individuals) and the Meru Betiri National Park (200 individuals).[51] 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.[52] 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).[2]

Since a small founder event occurred in Australia with the introduction of only 20 previously domesticated banteng, a genetic bottleneck has inevitably occurred, causing all banteng presently in Australia to lack genetic diversity as a result of inbreeding. Genetic invariability can lead to inbreeding depression, resulting in harmful mutations and reduced immunity to diseases. This was proven by an analysis of 12 microsatellites, that recorded a high inbreeding coefficient of 0.58.[35] Despite the limited genetic pool of this population, conservationists hope that populations at risk can be preserved. Some have proposed that a deliberate introduction of the endangered populations to the stable but non-native Australian variety would enable viable conservation, though how it would affect Northern Territory grazing ranges is unknown.[36]

Another possible threat is introgression with other cattle and similar bovids throughout their range where they coexist in the wild or due to crossbreeding programs, that may compromise the genetic integrity or purity of banteng populations.[31][2] This, coupled with possibly low genetic diversity in small, isolated populations, is a major concern in Sabah, where water buffaloes might crossbreed with wild banteng. However, little genetic research has been done in this area to conclusively establish the impact of such crossbreeding on banteng survival.[2] In a bid to protect the genetic purity of Bali cattle, Bali has banned other cattle varieties on the island.[31]

The banteng is the second endangered species to be successfully cloned, and the first clone to survive beyond infancy (the first was a gaur that died two days after birth).[53][54] 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.[55][56]

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