Published on June 5, 2025

Earlier this month, our partner Rising Phoenix successfully completed a landmark wildlife capture and translocation, moving a herd of sixteen rare Banteng from a degraded and unsafe forest patch to safety in the Siem Pang Wildlife Sanctuary in Cambodia’s Stung Treng province.

Banteng are a species of wild cattle recently uplisted to Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The species has declined dramatically throughout its range as a result of snaring and shooting, to the point where the estimated global population now hovers in the mere thousands.

We didn’t expect it to be easy, since nobody has translocated Banteng in this way before and we had to make things up as we went along.

Romain Legrand

Biodiversity Research and Monitoring Manager at Rising Phoenix

The sixteen animals moved by Rising Phoenix were discovered several months ago in an unprotected and highly degraded patch of forest in the north of Cambodia, where they faced an uncertain future. “Without intervention, we think these animals would have been doomed,” says Romain Legrand, veterinarian and Biodiversity Research and Monitoring Manager at Rising Phoenix. “The forest around them is subject to heavy logging, and the animals may sooner or later also have become targets for poachers, so we decided to try and move them to the wildlife sanctuary in Siem Pang, where they would be safe.”

This successful translocation of sixteen Banteng not only safeguards the individual animals, but has also laid the foundation for re-establishing a viable population at Siem Pang, including through further translocations of Banteng trapped in isolated forest patches elsewhere in the county.

Rising Phoenix worked on a plan with local and provincial authorities. This included obtaining the relevant permits, veterinary supervision and – crucially – the deployment of anti-poaching units from the Royal Gendarmerie Khmer and Forestry Department to the site where they had been found, ensuring the animals would not be killed before they could be moved.

Once funding for the operation was secured, Rising Phoenix constructed a mass-capture funnel trap or “boma” in the forest, into which the Banteng would be guided and from where they would finally be loaded onto a modified transport truck for the journey to their new home.

While this approach was technically challenging, it meant the team could move the Banteng to safety without subjecting them to the stress of tranquilising them and then lifting them by crane into a truck one at a time.

“We didn’t expect it to be easy, since nobody has translocated Banteng in this way before and we had to make things up as we went along,” explains Romain Legrand. “However, the operation turned out to be even more complicated than expected. We optimised our technique with every capture attempt, but these shy and resourceful animals kept outsmarting us at every step.”

Baffled by the Banteng, Rising Phoenix reached out for advice to Conservation Solutions – a leading wildlife capture operator based in South Africa – and it quickly became clear that air support would be needed. The solution proposed was to use a helicopter to locate the Banteng in the dense forest and get them to move in the same direction at the same time to finally funnel them onto the truck.

“It took us a few weeks to get everything organised, but the plan worked in the end ”, says Romain.

In late May, thanks to the expert guidance of Conservation Solutions and support from Helistar Cambodia and their skilled pilots, the Rising Phoenix team was able to guide a total of sixteen Banteng into the funnel by helicopter. That was one adult bull, eight adult females, five juveniles and two calves. Once loaded on the truck, the animals were immediately ferried to Siem Pang Wildlife Sanctuary, where they are now being monitored and protected.

“This successful operation highlights the power of collaboration in protecting endangered species”, says Jonathan Eames, CEO of Rising Phoenix. “It took the combined efforts of more than thirty Rising Phoenix ground staff, our staff veterinarian, two helicopter pilots, two expert advisers, dozens of dedicated government rangers, police officers and officials, and two partners – Cartier for Nature and Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) – who shared our vision for these Banteng and helped provide funding to make the operation possible.”

“The successful relocation of these sixteen Banteng by Rising Phoenix and its partners is deeply inspiring. This achievement not only demonstrates the existing technical expertise but also underscores the power of regional collaboration. It paves the way for expanded conservation efforts, offering a promising future for the Banteng species”, says Julien Semelin, Head of Environment Investments at Cartier for Nature.

*The operation was carefully planned and executed by Rising Phoenix/Siem Pang Conservation under the guidance of the Stung Treng Governor’s office together with the Stung Treng Provincial Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Provincial Department of Environment, the Provincial Royal Gendarmerie Khmer and the Borei O’Svay Sen Chey and Siem Pang district administrations.

The images in this article are courtesy of Rising Phoenix.