FAR from home in a remote region of Australia roams the world’s largest herd of a wild, pure-bred species of threatened Indonesian cattle. The banteng’s overseas success suggests that introducing endangered exotic species into other countries might be a feasible option for conservation, though there will always be ecological risks associated, says Corey Bradshaw of Charles Darwin University in Darwin, Australia.
In Asia there are fewer than 5000 wild, pure-strain banteng (Bos javanicus), living in small populations. Their range has declined by 85 per cent in the past 15 to 20 years, and the World Conservation Union lists the…
