Bali Cattle

A domesticated species of bovine, Bos domesticus, descended from the wild banteng, Bos javanicus, which sets it apart from most other cattle breeds; domestication took place around 3500 BC and is believed to have happened on the island of Bali itself. Bali cattle have since been introduced across Southeast Asia and into Australia, including East Timor, Java, Malaysia, New Guinea and the Philippines, and they make up roughly a quarter of Indonesia's total cattle population and as much as four fifths of the herd on some eastern islands; feral populations also now roam Australia's Northern Territory, where escaped animals damage crops. The animals are an important source of meat, prized for tenderness when young, and their calm, deer-like temperament suits them to traditional work plowing rice paddies.