The Banteng is a large and striking ungulate that plays an important role in the tropical forest ecosystems of Southeast Asia. Once widespread across dry dipterocarp and deciduous forest, its population has steadily declined due to hunting pressure and habitat loss. Today, only around 5,000 bantengs remain globally, and the species is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In Thailand, Bantengs are found in approximately 11% of the country’s protected areas, mostly in small populations of fewer than 50 bantengs. This highlights the species’ vulnerability and the urgent need for population recovery in the wild.
From 12–16 January 2026, the research team of the Western Forest Tiger Recovery Project organized a five-day workshop for 30 veterinarians and wildlife management specialists at the Khao Nam Phu Wildlife and Nature Study Center in Kanchanaburi Province. This center is one of Thailand’s key facilities for breeding Bantengs in captivity and plays a vital role in supporting reintroduction programs across multiple sites. The training covered essential topics such as wildlife capture and translocation techniques, preparation and use of anesthetics for large mammals, veterinary equipment and dart gun operation, and safety measures for both staff and animals. Participants included officials from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, the Zoological Park Organization under the Royal Patronage, and experts from WWF Thailand.
On the third day of the training, participants engaged in hands-on practice by anesthetizing, fitting radio collars, and translocating three adult bantengs (one female and two males) to a large acclimatization enclosure within the Salak Phra Wildlife Sanctuary in Kanchanaburi Province. The bantengs will remain in the enclosure for approximately three months to adapt before being fully released into the wild. The use of radio collars enables staff to monitor movements and assess survival rates after release. These newly translocated bantengs will join the 16 individuals previously released into Salak Phra Wildlife Sanctuary over the past several years, as part of Thailand’s banteng population recovery program. The project has been approved and guided by the Animal Welfare Oversight Committee, with technical support from WWF Thailand.
In 2026, WWF Thailand, in collaboration with the WWF Foundation, plans to expand banteng reintroduction efforts to additional sites beyond Salak Phra Wildlife Sanctuary. The first selected site is Mae Wong National Park, which historically supported a large banteng population.
In 2019, reports indicated that some bantengs had begun migrating into Mae Wong National Park from the Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary. This movement is considered a positive sign for the ecological recovery of the area, reinforcing the park’s potential as a suitable habitat for future banteng releases.
The Banteng Restoration Project is a vital component of ecosystem recovery, as bantengs are one of the primary natural prey species of tigers. Increasing the population of ungulates in forest habitats helps restore the integrity of the food chain. For this reason, Mae Wong National Park has come to be regarded as a “Forest of Hope” — not only for bantengs, but also for the recovery of tiger populations and other wildlife across Thailand’s Western Forest Complex.
