The critically endangered banteng is making a comeback in Thailand’s Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, and has become a unique community-led conservation icon, reports Mongabay’s Carolyn Cowan.

Thailand’s population of banteng (Bos javanicus), one of the world’s rarest wild cattle species, was once reduced to just a few hundred individuals due to decades of deforestation, agricultural expansion and hunting. However, habitat protection and reduced poaching pressure, widely credited to the implementation of SMART (Spatial Monitoring And Reporting Tool) ranger patrols, have helped the banteng population in Huai Kha Khaeng double over the past 20 years. With an estimated population of at least 1,400 individuals today, the sanctuary is now recognized as home to the largest banteng population in Southeast Asia.

The successful recovery has prompted several herds to naturally disperse from the protected area into surrounding buffer zones. This expansion initially caused concern over the potential for human-wildlife conflict, as the wild cattle entered lands used by local communities for farming and livestock grazing. Villagers faced crop damage, while the banteng faced the risk of poaching in areas with limited law enforcement.

To address these challenges, residents of Rabam subdistrict, among the most affected by banteng presence, established a community-based ecotourism initiative in 2021 that focused on banteng-watching tours. The project has since transformed the species into a vital financial and cultural asset for the community.

Today, more than 320 residents from 19 villages participate in the program, which includes wildlife watching, boat tours, and traditional cultural activities. For many participants, tourism has grown from a supplementary source of income to their primary livelihood.

The initiative has a community fund in which 5% of revenues are reinvested in local infrastructure. All members abide by mutually agreed-upon rules, such as not hunting or consuming wild animals or harvesting plants in protected forests.

The success of the community project has also shifted perspectives among residents like Supaporn Kulkhot, who now increasingly view the forest as a shared asset.

“In the past, I would look at wildlife as a type of food,” she said. “But now my understanding of wildlife has changed. Instead, I look at the animals as they are. I feel we have a responsibility to preserve them, as they can be an everlasting source of income.

Read the full story by Carolyn Cowan here.

Banner image: A herd of banteng in a buffer zone of Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary. Image courtesy of KU Faculty of Forestry/DNP/WCS.