PHNOM PENH, May 24 — A helicopter successfully herded 16 critically endangered banteng onto a truck in Cambodia for the first time, conservationists said, marking a “significant achievement” in a country with high rates of deforestation.
Banteng are a type of wild cattle native to South-east Asia and listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of threatened species.
Their natural habitat is forests and grasslands, but only a few thousand remain in the wild and they are mostly threatened by hunting, logging and industry.
This handout photo taken on May 14, 2025 and released on May 23 by conservation group Rising Phoenix shows a view from a helicopter of a ‘mass-capture funnel trap’ for banteng, a type of wild cattle native to South-east Asia, in Siem Pang in northeastern Cambodia, as part of an operation to relocate members of the endangered species. — AFP pic
Cambodia has lost around 33 per cent of its tree cover since 2000, according to Global Forest Watch, as the government allows firms to clear vast tracts of land — including in protected zones.
Conservation groups Rising Phoenix and Siem Pang said that 16 banteng found in the wild were herded over three days last week through a “mass-capture funnel trap” onto a truck before being relocated to a wildlife sanctuary.
This handout photo taken on May 13, 2025 and released on May 23 by conservation group Rising Phoenix shows banteng, a type of wild cattle native to South-east Asia, in Siem Pang in northeastern Cambodia, during a herding operation to relocate members of the endangered species. — AFP pic
For the first time, a helicopter was used to guide them through the funnel.
The operation took place in Siem Pang in northeastern Cambodia.
A helicopter successfully herded 16 critically endangered banteng onto a truck in Cambodia for the first time, conservationists said, marking a ‘significant achievement’ in a country with high rates of deforestation. — AFP pic
The conservation groups said that the method “opens the way for further such operations to relocate Banteng trapped in isolated forest patches elsewhere in the country”.
They added that the banteng will be monitored and protected at the Siem Pang Wildlife Sanctuary. — AFP