The Banteng (Bos javanicus), also known as tembadau, is a species of cattle found in Southeast Asia. The head-and-body length is between 1.9 and 3.68 m. Wild banteng are typically larger and heavier than their domesticated counterparts, but are otherwise similar in appearance. The banteng shows extensive sexual dimorphism; adult bulls are generally dark brown to black, larger and more sturdily built than adult cows, which are thinner and usually pale brown or chestnut red. There is a big white patch on the rump. Horns are present on both sexes, and are typically 60 to 95 cm.

Banteng (Bos javanicus)

Bantengs are active during the day as well as at night, though activity at night is more in areas frequented by humans. Herds comprise two to forty individuals, and generally a single bull. Herbivores, banteng feed on vegetation such as grasses, sedges, shoots, leaves, flowers and fruits. Banteng can survive without water for long stretches during droughts, but drink regularly if possible, especially from standing water. Not much is known about the reproductive physiology of banteng, but it might be similar to that observed in taurine cattle. After a gestation of nearly 285 days (nine to ten months), a week longer than that typically observed in taurine cattle, a single calf is born. Banteng occur in a variety of habitats throughout their range, including open deciduous forests, semi-evergreen forests, lower montane forests, abandoned farms and grasslands.

Here is an impression of animal photography of the Banteng (Bos javanicus) in Diergaarde Blijdorp (Blijdorp Zoo) in Rotterdam.