Successful implementation of banteng breeding and transfer recommendations

by Yonathan, GSMP Programme Officer, PKBSI

One of the goals of the GSMPs is for the Indonesian zoos to maintain as much genetic diversity within the GSMP species’ ex-situ populations as is possible by cooperative breeding. This means the transfer of animals between institutions in order to allow the best pairings to maintain the genetic diversity. To achieve this, stud-book analyses were conducted and, with the backing of Indonesian zoos, breeding and transfer recommendations were made and distributed by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry in 2016. This July saw the first successfully completed animal transfers as part of these GSMP recommendations. This was a significant step for Indonesian zoos as this is the first time that cooperative breed-ing transfers have been con-ducted. We hope that there will be many more transfers, once the second set of breeding and trans-fer recommendations are distributed later this year. These recommendations also resulted in a number of successful breeding events are described below.

Three banteng bulls were moved, involving several institutions of Taman Safari Indonesia (TSI Bogor, TSI Prigen and Bali Safari & Marine Park), as well as Baluran National Park:

• One bull (Selamet) from Ta-man Safari Prigen was trans-ferred to Bali Safari & Marine Park, Gianyar.

• One bull (Doni) from Baluran National Park was transferred to Taman Safari Bogor.

• One bull (Telepa) from Bali Sa-fari & Marine Park was trans-ferred to Baluran National Park.

After going through these pro-cesses and obtaining the neces-sary licences, the big day for the zoos involved had arrived. Doni was the first banteng transferred; he was sent from the breeding centre in Baluran National Park to Taman Safari Bogor on July 19th.

Selamet was the next banteng to be transferred. He was moved from Taman Safari Prigen to Bali Safari & Marine Park on July 28th. This day-long transfer was the first to involve two Indonesian is-lands and included a sea crossing.

The final banteng transfer was Telepa from Bali Safari & Marine Park to the breeding centre in Baluran National Park. Following another day-long transfer (and sea crossing), Telepa was officially received by Bambang Sukendro, Head of Baluran National Park, on July 30th.

Before these transfers took place, the health and condition of the banteng was monitored by weighing, and each was given a microchip for individual identification. Using the skills developed during the GSMP Banteng Transportation and Husbandry Training Workshops in July 2017, the banteng were trained to enter their transport crates.

These transfers are regulated by the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry, and the process involves steps taken by the sending zoo to ensure their animals are healthy and ready to transfer. The receiving zoo also ensures their housing and facilities are prepared before the animal arrives. All zoos involved had committed to implement these recommendations to support the captive management of banteng in Indonesia.

In addition to these transfers, some of the banteng pairings from the first set of breeding recommendations have resulted in offspring! In 2017, offspring were born as a direct result of breeding recommendations in Baluran National Park breeding centre (Barja), Taman Safari Bogor (Un-tari) and Bali Safari & Marine Park (Tiro), including five offspring be-ing born in Taman Safari Prigen (Dimas, Lili, Tika, Susi and Tessi). Such breeding is helping to in-crease the population to reach the GSMP target of 100 animals in In-donesian zoos, while maintaining the greatest genetic diversity pos-sible.

The implementation of the GSMP recommendations by mov-ing animals between three zoo-logical collections and a national park, and across two Indonesian islands, is a major milestone for the Action Indonesia GSMPs. These moves wouldn’t have happened without the hard work of everyone involved, particularly the teams at Baluran National Park, Taman Safari Pri-gen, Taman Safari Bogor and Bali Safari & Marine Park. In-deed, the support and coordination of Ivan Chandra was key to their success. Hopefully trans-fers of the other GSMP species will follow soon, helping us to reach our goal of developing healthy ex situ populations in Indonesia and globally. This goal will be achieved by Indonesian zoos continuing to work together and support the transfer of animals. By zoos cooperating, we can achieve successful breeding and in the coming years there will be more young to be transferred to zoos that are looking for additional animals