The Preferred Habitat of Reintroduced Banteng (Bos javanicus) at the Core and the Edge of Salakphra Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Adaptation to new environments by reintroducing banteng (Bos javanicus) is important for sustainable conservation and habitat management. The aims of this study were to test whether increased human disturbance in the edge area affects animal movement, territory size, and even the area of use in Salakphra Wildlife Sanctuary. Using camera traps, we found that the reintroduced banteng preferred salt licks and more distance from ponds. In the core area, the area of use was decreased, followed by the adaptation to the new habitat by the reintroduced banteng. In the edge area, the area of use was smaller than in the core area due to the increased disturbance from human activities. We suggest that the reintroduction program should be conducted in the core area rather than in the edge area, and controlling human activities at the edge may increase the area of use for the reintroduced banteng population in the future. ABSTRACT: Monitoring of banteng (Bos javanicus) after reintroduction is important for their management. This study aimed to monitor the preferred habitat and area of use of reintroduced banteng at the core (13 banteng) and the edge (three banteng) of Salakphra Wildlife Sanctuary between 2019 and 2021 and compared the finding with previous studies conducted from 2014 to 2019. The Binary Logistic Regression (BLR) showed the most preferred, moderately preferred, and least preferred areas were 44.7 km(2), 1.2 km(2), and 54.1 km(2) in the dry season, and 25.9 km(2), 1.0 km(2), and 9.3 km(2) in the wet season, respectively. Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) showed the most preferred, moderately preferred, and least preferred areas as 12.1 km(2), 17.3 km(2), and 65.9 km(2), respectively. Banteng have previously been found close to ponds and salt licks. The area of use size, as determined by Minimum Convex Polygon (MCP) and Kernel Density Estimation (KDE), was 20.3 km(2) and 6.5 km(2), respectively. Three banteng were reintroduced to the edge area in 2020. The edge area was temporarily utilized by these individuals. In the core area, the area of use in this study decreased compared to the previous studies from 2014 to 2019, indicating they were able to find their preferred habitat. This study suggested that, if the area is managed appropriately, banteng will be able to live in a smaller habitat, and we will be able to restore the banteng population in the future.