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Kouprey. In Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour of Wild Cattle. Eds Melletti and Burton. Cambridge University Press
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The forest buffalo (Syncerus caffer nanus) typically inhabits the dense rain forests of western and central Africa. We recorded the 1st data on the behavior and social interactions of forest buffalo in natural forest clearings that represent crucial places in the rain forest for feeding and social interactions among individuals. Data were collected from a buffalo herd during January 2002–January 2004 in the Bai-Hokou study area (Dzanga-Ndoki National Park, Central African Republic). We analyzed typical behaviors (i.e., grazing, resting or ruminating, and moving) of both the herd and individuals (from 16 to 24 buffalos), as well as the most frequent social interactions. Spatial distribution among buffalos in the herd, related to both distance from forest edge and to the season (wet versus dry seasons), showed that the adult male was commonly closer to the females than to juveniles. Individuals were generally further away from each other when in the vicinity of the forest edge. Moreover, at greater distances from the forest edge, the number of buffalos in the herd increased. During the wet season, the herd was generally smaller and individuals were more spread out within the same clearing. The most common behavior of the male, females, and juveniles was resting or ruminating. Behavioral interactions by adults were mainly addressed to juveniles.
The continuing war in Kampuchea has made it difficult for zoologists to assess the status of endangered species in the remoter parts of the country. Two of the world's rarest mammals, the kouprey and the Javan rhinoceros, may still survive there. The author visited the area in April 1986 and, in interviews with people in two refugee camps on the Thai border, gained the impression that the effects of the war on wildlife were not as drastic as had been expected.
The northern and eastern plains of Cambodia support one of the largest extents of lowland deciduous forest in South-east Asia and are globally signifi cant for mammal conservation. Between Dec.2008 and Aug.2009 intensive camera-trapping was conducted within mosaic deciduous dipterocarp and mixed-deciduous/semi-evergreen forest in the east of Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary, Mondulkiri province, Cambodia. Forty camera-trap locations were set up for >2700 camera-trap nights producing 707 independent encounters of 23 mammal species. Eight globally threatened species of mammals were recorded including the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), banteng (Bos javanicus) and dhole (Cuon alpinus). Two species, the gaur (Bos gaurus) and pig-tailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina), showed signifi cant preference for forest type (higher Relative Abundance Index of both species in mixed-deciduous/semi-evergreen forest). The mix of drier deciduous dipterocarp forest and wetter mixed-deciduous and semi-evergreen forest appears important for maintaining the conservation value of the site. Camera trap encounter rates were lower in areas within a day's walk from villages at the periphery of the protected area whilst cathemeral species displayed higher proportions of nocturnal activity than in similar studies from elsewhere in South-east Asia. We suggest disturbance and hunting may therefore be affecting the distribution and activity patterns of key species. Managing the Non Timber Forest Product (NTFP) collectors as well as fi nalising, and enforcing, zonation within the protected area are recommended conservation measures for the mammal community.
In a recent paper, Galbreath, Mordacq & Weiler (2006) concluded that the kouprey Bos sauveli was not a natural species, but rather a feral animal derived from hybridization between banteng Bos javanicus and zebu Bos taurus indicus. Here, we analyze two mitochondrial genes (cytochrome b and subunit II of the cytochrome c oxidase) for all the seven species of the subtribe Bovina, including new sequences for several specimens of banteng, zebu and gaur of Cambodia. Our analyses indicate that mitochondrial sequences of Cambodian banteng are divergent from those of Javan banteng (mean difference =4.27%), but similar to those of kouprey (1.25%). We propose two conflicting hypotheses to interpret these results: (1) the Cambodian and Indonesian banteng belong to two distinct species, and the kouprey derived from Cambodian banteng; (2) all subspecies of banteng belong to Bo. javanicus, but the mitochondrial genome of kouprey was transferred by natural hybridization into the ancestor of Cambodian banteng. Morphological, ecological and ethological characteristics of banteng and kouprey rather support the second hypothesis. However, we need to sequence nuclear markers, and to analyze banteng from Lao, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, to give a definitive conclusion on the taxonomic status of banteng and kouprey.
A matrix of 57 (mainly cranial) characters and 32 taxa of fossil and Recent Bovini (buffaloes, bison and cattle) has been analysed using the parsimony program HENNIG86. Among the best established results are the exclusion of Parabos, polyphyly of Leptobos, monophyly of the Bos sensu lato+ buffaloes group (a clade including all Recent Bovini), probable monophyly of the Bubalina and Syncerina, and the close relationship between bison and yak. Some other interesting questions raised include the apparent absence of a close link between Pliocene African bovines (except “Leptobos” syrticus) and later African buffaloes, and the possible monophyly of Pelorovis oldowayensis+Bos sensu lato.
The kouprey is a very rare bovid species of the Indochinese peninsula, and no living specimen has been described for a long time, suggesting that it is possibly extinct. Its systematic position within the tribe Bovini remains confused since the analyses of morphological characters have led to several conflicting hypotheses. Some authors have also suggested that it could be a hybrid species produced by the crossing of the banteng with gaur, zebu, or water buffalo. Here we performed a molecular phylogeny of the tribe Bovini to determine the taxonomic status of the kouprey. DNA was extracted from the holotype specimen preserved in the MNHN collections. Phylogenetic analyses were carried out on a matrix including all the taxonomic diversity described in the tribe Bovini, and 2065 nucleotide characters, representing three different markers, i.e., the promotor of the lactoferrin and two mitochondrial genes (cytochrome b and subunit II of the cytochrome c oxidase). The results show that the kouprey belongs to the subtribe Bovina, and that three different clades can be evidenced into this group: the first includes the domestic ox, zebu, and European bison; the second incorporates the yak and American bison; and the third contains the kouprey, banteng and gaur. All hypotheses involving hybridization for the origin of the kouprey can be rejected, confirming that it is a real wild species. Molecular datings and biogeographic inferences suggest that the kouprey diverged from banteng and gaur during the Plio-Pleistocene of Asia. In addition, several molecular signatures were detected in the cytochrome b gene, permitting a molecular identification of the kouprey. We propose a conservation project based on a molecular taxonomy approach for tracking the kouprey in Indochina in order to determine whether some populations still survive in the wild.
The kouprey is a rare and enigmatic forest ox discovered by scientists in Cambodia only in 1937. Numerous morphological hypotheses have been proposed for the origin of the kouprey: that it is a species closely related to banteng and gaur, two other wild oxen of southeast Asia; a morphologically divergent species placed in a separate genus, named Novibos ; a wild species linked to aurochs and domestic cattle; a vicariant population of banteng; a feral cattle; or a hybrid of banteng with either zebu cattle, gaur or water buffalo.
In a recent paper, which gained a lot of media coverage, Galbreath et al . analysed mitochondrial DNA sequences and concluded that the kouprey never existed as a wild, natural species, and that it was a feral hybrid between banteng and zebu cattle.
Here we analyse eight DNA markers—three mitochondrial regions and five nuclear fragments—representing an alignment of 4582 nucleotides for the holotype of the kouprey and all related species. Our results demonstrate that the kouprey is a real and naturally occurring species, and show that Cambodian populations of banteng acquired a mitochondrial genome of kouprey by natural introgressive hybridization during the Pleistocene epoch.
Preliminary survey of the large mammal fauna of the open Diptcrocarpous woodlands in Eastern Cambodja : Among the species observed by the author, two are included in the IUCN list of endangered Mammals, the Kouprey and the Douec langur. In the Phnom Prick Reserve 23 koupreys were censused in 1968. The Douc langur is still common ; contrary to what is the rule in other langurs, the Douc was always met in pairs during the dry season.
La validité specifique dn Kouprey ou Boeuf gris du Cambodge, décrit en 1937 par Urbain, a été contested par difflrents auteurs. Les uns le considérent comme un hybride, tandis que d'autres admettent au contra ire qu'il constitue on genre original. Les études ostéologiques aboutissant à des conclusions dia-métralement opposées, selon les critéres adoptés par les tenants de l'une ou l'autre hypothése, cet article se contente de recourir aux arguments apportés par la morphologie externe et I'éologie du Kouprey. L'hypothése de Thybri-dation étant aisément réfutée et celle d'un Statut générique particulier ne paraissant pas justifiée, il conclut que le Kouprey n'est qu'une espéce du sons-genre Bibos au měme titre que le Gaur et le Banteng. II n'y a done pas de raison d'invalider le nom proposé par Urbain. (1) Chargé de Recherches au C.N.R. S. Laboratoire de Mammalogie, Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris. (2) Inspecteur des Chasses, Chef des Services de Protection de la Nature du Cambodge. Eaux et Forěts, Phnom-Penh.
This brief paper presents the information which we obtained in August 1980 on the habitats and endangered species of Viet Nam by interviewing scientists in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). We did this with officials of the Department of Zoology of the University of Hanoi, of the Institute of Biology of the National Centre for Scientific Research, of the Technical Department of the Ministry of Forestry, and with others.
We were informed that Hylobates concolor (Whitecheeked or Black Gibbon) appears to be found in sufficient numbers to hold its own, but that H. pileatus (Pileated Gibbon) has been extirpated from Viet Nam. Pygathrix nemaeus (Douc Langur) also appears to be in no immediate danger of extinction. Bos sauveli (Kouprey), however, is said to be down to less than a dozen individuals in Viet Nam, and so little hope remains for this species. Lophura imperialis (Imperial Pheasant) has become even more rare than formerly and is in grave danger of extinction. The conifer Pinus krempfii also seems headed for extinction.
The coastal mangrove forest is the single most seriously disrupted habitat of Viet Nam. Some 40% of this highly productive ecosystem has been obliterated by military activities, and these war-obliterated areas are now largely covered by a low-growing, inferior vegetation or else have been converted to agriculture.
It is recognized that a comprehensive survey of the endangered species of Viet Nam is an urgent requirement, and that there is a pressing need for additional nature reserves. Economic conditions, however, seem to make early action improbable in both cases.
A famous zoological discovery of the 20th century was that of the kouprey Bos sauveli, a medium-sized ox inhabiting Cambodian forests. The kouprey was suspiciously intermediate between banteng oxen and domestic zebu cattle in its structure. Mitochondrial DNA sequences of mainland banteng are compared here with a published kouprey sequence, and the comparison demonstrates a close relationship. Either the kouprey derives partly from banteng or (less likely) these particular banteng acquired kouprey DNA via recent genetic introgression. The kouprey may have been a feral hybrid form, a descendant of domestic oxen, rather than a natural species.
The kouprey (Bos sauveli Urbain, 1937) is a very rare bovid species of Cambodia, which may be extinct in the wild, as no living specimen has been observed for a long time. Here, we describe a complete taxidermy mount, which presents astonishing morphological similarities with the kouprey. The animal was mounted in 1871 at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, where it was referenced as No. 1871-576. It was deposited at the Natural History Museum of Bourges, France, in 1931, where it is still conserved today. To clarify the taxonomic status of the specimen of Bourges, DNA was extracted from a piece of bone taken on the mandible, and two different fragments of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene were independently amplified and sequenced. The phylogenetic analyses show that the specimen of Bourges is robustly associated with the holotype of the kouprey, and that both are related to other wild species of Bos found in Indochina, i.e., banteng (B. javanicus) and gaur (B. frontalis). Because of doubts for sexing the animal, we applied a molecular test based on the PCR amplification of a DNA fragment specific to the Y chromosome. The results indicate that the specimen of Bourges is a male. The comparisons with male kouprey previously described in the literature reveal important differences concerning the body size, general coloration and horns. As these differences involve phenotypic traits that are strongly selected in case of domestication, we suggest that the specimen of Bourges was a domestic ox. This implies therefore that the kouprey may have been domesticated in Cambodia, and that several extant local races may be directly related to the kouprey.
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