Banteng

Banteng Temporal range: Middle Pleistocene-Present[1]
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Bovidae
Subfamily:	Bovinae
Genus:	Bos
Species:	B. javanicus
Binomial name
Bos javanicus d'Alton, 1823
Subspecies
List Javan banteng (B. j. javanicus) d'Alton, 1823 Indochinese (or Burma) banteng (B. j. birmanicus) Lydekker, 1898 Bornean banteng (B. j. lowi) Lydekker, 1912 Bali banteng (B. j. domesticus) Wilckens, 1905
Distribution of banteng (2010)[2] green: present red: possibly present
Synonyms[3][4]
list Bos banteng Wagner, 1844 Bos bantinger Schlegel and Müller, 1845 Bos banting Sundevall, 1846 Bos butleri Lydekker, 1905 Bos domesticus Wilckens, 1905 Bos leucoprymnus Quoy and Gaimard, 1830 Bos porteri Lydekker, 1909 Bos seleniceros Heller, 1890 Bos seligniceros Meyer, 1878 Bos sondaicus Blyth, 1842 Bibos javanicus Bibos banteng Bibos bantinger Bibos banting Bibos butleri Bibos domesticus Bibos leucoprymnus Bibos porteri Bibos seleniceros Bibos seligniceros Bibos sondaicus

The banteng (Bos javanicus; /ˈbæntɛŋ/), also known as tembadau,^[5] is a species of wild bovine found in Southeast Asia.

The head-and-body length is between 1.9 and 3.68 m (6.2 and 12.1 ft).^[6] Wild banteng are typically larger and heavier than their domesticated counterparts, but are otherwise similar in appearance. The banteng shows extensive sexual dimorphism; adult bulls are generally dark brown to black, larger and more sturdily built than adult cows, which are thinner and usually pale brown or chestnut red. There is a big white patch on the rump. Horns are present on both sexes, and are typically 60 to 95 cm (24 to 37 in) long. Three subspecies are generally recognised.

Banteng are active during the day as well as at night, though activity at night is more in areas frequented by humans. Herds comprise two to forty individuals, and generally a single bull. Herbivores, banteng feed on vegetation such as grasses, sedges, shoots, leaves, flowers and fruits. Banteng can survive without water for long stretches during droughts, but drink regularly if possible, especially from standing water. Not much is known about the reproductive physiology of banteng, but it might be similar to that observed in taurine cattle. After a gestation of nearly 285 days (nine to ten months), a week longer than that typically observed in taurine cattle, a single calf is born. Banteng occur in a variety of habitats throughout their range, including open deciduous forests, semi-evergreen forests, lower montane forests, abandoned farms and grasslands.

The largest populations of wild banteng occur in Cambodia, Java and possibly in Borneo (particularly Sabah) and Thailand. Domesticated banteng occur in Bali and many eastern Indonesian islands (such as Sulawesi, Sumbawa, and Sumba), Australia, Malaysia and New Guinea. Feral populations are found in East Kalimantan and the Northern Territory (Australia). Domesticated populations are primarily used for their highly demanded meat, and are used as draught animals to a lesser extent. The wild banteng is classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and populations have decreased by more than 50% in the past few decades. Rampant poaching (for food, game, traditional medicine and horns), habitat loss and fragmentation and susceptibility to disease are major threats throughout the range. Banteng are legally protected in all countries in their range, and are largely restricted to protected areas (possibly barring Cambodia). The banteng is the second endangered species to be successfully cloned, and the first clone to survive beyond infancy.