Bantang

Bantang Paddock

I cropped the other Bantang photo to get it to show the right way up.

are these domestic cross banteng?

They were imported to Australia in 1849 with the establishment of a British military outpost called Port Essington on the Cobourg Peninsula.

They were the domesticated strain then, but have been living wild for 166 years. Genetically they are identical to wild Bantang.

Are they exhibited elsewhere in Australia?

Not sure if other zoos have them, but they are reasonably common in private collections.

Apparently there are 10,000 wild Bantang on Coburg Peninsula and they have no cattle genes in them. There are only an estimated 5,000 wild Bantang in all their natural range and their numbers continue to fall.

I can remember seeing them at Dubbo Zoo about 5 or 6 years ago. I've no idea if they're still there.

Is the correct spelling "banteng"? Is that a horse in the same paddock as the banteng? Also, is there some kind of macropod (grey kangaroo?) in the middle of the photo on the right-hand side. If you click on the photo and then "original" the image zooms inwards. Is there anything else in the enclosure besides banteng, horses and kangaroos? A strange mix!

Yes, yours is the correct spelling.

I did not ask why there was a horse in the paddock, but it is standing beside the Banteng bull.

I zoomed in on the original photo and that is a Red Kangaroo. My daughter informs me there were 3 there.

I have also seen Blackbuck in this paddock in the past. This paddock is where the tour has a break and a walk around. Behind me there is a paddock of goats which people can feed and pat. The front Banteng is hand raised and was getting a pat through the fence.

I think they put any animals in this paddock which will not get upset by people walking around, as people are not allowed off the carts anywhere else during the tour.