Traveling Together of 'Banteng and Sutthirat Yoovidhya Foundation'

Because We Know that the Existence of 'Banteng' is Important. Anything that 'Sutthirat Yoovidhya Foundation' Can Do, We Want to Put in the Effort and that Results in 'Banteng Conservation and Breeding Project' Since 2014

The primary goal of the Banteng conservation initiative is to breed more Banteng. The foundation has worked with the Khao Nampu Nature and Wildlife Education Center and the surrounding communities to create hundreds of routes for cows to travel from Salak Phra Forest to Huai Kha Khaeng Forest. If this is accomplished, the number of Banteng will increase significantly.

'Conserving Banteng' is the Starting Point

From 2014-2022, Banteng have been released into Salak Phra Forest 5 times, totaling 16 animals.

Releasing Banteng into the wild is only the beginning of conservation; we still want to follow up on Banteng to see how they will live in the forest, if they will have enough food, and if they will meet their friends. As a result, in 2020, the Foundation installed Camera Trap cameras to monitor the behavior of Banteng and other wild animals to determine whether their numbers increased or which routes were chosen to walk in order to plan future conservation efforts to connect the Banteng Trail. Currently, 30 tracking cameras are following trees in the paths that animals are expected to take, such as near water sources or food sources such as salt licks, and images from the cameras show that the first set of cows is still present. Banteng are beginning to live in herds, and at least 22 babies have been born in the wild!

In addition to the tracking camera, which captures images of Banteng passing by, other animals appear in the frame, such as peacocks, wild elephants, and even a tiger that once lived in Salak Phra Forest! It evolved into a more complete forest ecosystem as more animals arrived and relocated to Salakpra Forest. Part of this is due to the absence of human predators, which has transformed the forest into a safe environment.

One of the foundation’s support funds given to the conservation center was used to conduct public relations activities for residents in the surrounding communities. According to reports, the Banteng will be released back into the forest so that everyone can act as the eyes and ears of others and spread the word. If you see a young cow wandering around, do not be alarmed. People can immediately notify the center, and they will take care of it. This message translates to 'Volunteer masses to conserve Banteng' as people from all over the forest come together to conserve Banteng with understanding.

Another important group of people on this conservation route are Goal Together volunteers. A crowd of over 2,000 volunteers gathered to help invest in every activity organized by the foundation, one of which included Banteng conservation activities.

Goal Together activity, Batch 1 in 2019, assisted in the construction of pens for Banteng in the conservation center as part of the 'Project to Return Banteng to the Forest, Learn the Value of Balance', allowing Banteng to prepare before being released into the wild. Later, in 2020, the second generation collaborated to grow wildlife food crops in the 'Project to Plant Elephant Food, Create Food for Wildlife', which helped plant 2,500 wild mango trees for elephant food and breed 10,000 wild mango trees, enough to grow and feed wildlife.

'Breeding Banteng' is Another Conservation Hope

We always emphasize that simply releasing the red cows into the wild does not mean that the mission is complete. There is still work behind the scenes to support conservation until the end.

The Foundation has partnered with the academic partner agency 'U Volunteer' with the Faculty of Animal Science, Kasetsart University (Kamphaeng Saen) and the Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Mahidol University (Salaya) to conduct research studies analyzing behavior of Banteng and other wild animals in the wild. Verifying the health and DNA of Banteng will increase the likelihood of breeding Banteng and reduce blood problems that may arise if Banteng have similar DNA. The goal of this initiative is to ensure that the cattle released into the wild will be strong and fully wild by 2021.

Another area of research being conducted in the lab is the development of Banteng embryos. It is another method of breeding Banteng to increase their numbers. Researchers are still actively working in the lab. We have tentatively discovered that embryos can be produced via intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), which can initially produce hybrid embryos of red and domestic cows with healthy cells. After that, it will be frozen to allow for additional testing of the process.

The Foundation and Banteng play a role similar to friends living next to each other, supporting one another in order to carry out the best conservation possible. The path of the Banteng beginning their journey is still something that people from far away in the forest, such as ourselves, must keep an eye on and encourage from afar so that the cows can travel across to Huai Kha Khaeng and breed in large herds, restoring the forest’s ecosystem to perfection.