LARGE MAMMALS: SELADANG AND BORNEAN BANTENG

Malaysia has two native wild cattle species that have a mixed grazing and browsing diet. Their post-Pleistocene distribution and survival are linked to grassland, a habitat now concentrated along roadsides and rare elsewhere as permanent agriculture has replaced swidden farming. Coupled with a long history of hunting, near-absence of grassland in remaining forests has led to a decline in both species to a few small, separate herds on a trajectory towards extinction. Interventions led by the NGO BORA (www.bringingbackourrareanimals.org) over the period between 2019 to 2025 are described in this paper, with emphasis on creation of managed grasslands in Royal Belum State Park and Tabin Wildlife Reserve.

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DATUK DR. JOHN PAYNE

Borneo Rhino Alliance

U.K-born tropical biologist Dr. John Payne has resided in Malaysia and Indonesia since 1975, including 25,000 hours living within tropical rain forest. He headed the nature conservation NGO WWF in Sabah from 1982 to 1998. Now, as head of a small, specialist NGO, Borneo Rhino Alliance (www.bringingbackourrareanimals.org), his aim is to highlight that knowledge of and actions to enhance demography, spatial distribution and reproductive performance are the vital parameters required to prevent extinctions. His current work involves the application of simple methods to increase carrying capacity of forest-plantation landscapes for endangered large mammals.