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Ahad, The oldest bull in the pen was separated from the rest of the herd. Taken to pasture...

It was a hot and blistering Sunday afternoon as we turned into a little lane leading to the sanctuary. Sunday was not the best of days to visit, for the centre was closed. So we strolled around the grounds instead. We met a few researchers busy making preparations for a trek into the jungle to replace camera traps placed weeks earlier to capture pictures of passing animals. With these camera traps, the researchers are able to record the movements of wildlife in the forest reserve. They were specifically tracking for tiger activity in the area and have found positive results.However, it is realised that the reserve may not be big enough for a healthy number of tigers to live in and danger of illegal encroachment poses another threat to the already restricted plot of land.

Walking towards the enclosures, the ranger ran through a brief history of the breeding centre and the future projects planned. The centre occupies about 20hectares of land and has 27 animal enclosures. The first enclosure houses one solitary bull called AHAD (Sunday). Ahad was captured on a Sunday about 17years ago and is the oldest tenant at the centre. We noticed that his built was not as robust and structured as the younger bulls and he was less aggressive than the others. Nonetheless, Ahad can still manage a few punches and is more than capable of protecting himself if threatened. But in such a large enclosure with no other seladang to share with, we half felt a little sorry for him - can't help feeling that he has already been put to pasture before his prime. However, in his younger days, Ahad was definitely the star of the show! Captured and translocated to the centre, he was put into a breeding programme and was allocated a few young cows. The breeding programme has been successful ever since- from the growing breeding pool of 10 adult males and 17 adult females, produces two calves on average, every year.

seladangs are reknown for their temperaments. This one is obviously not a great fan of musk scented perfume!

We left Ahad to continue his daydreams and moved on. All the other enclosures housed small families of about 3 to 6 individuals. We came to one enclosure, which had a young adult bull. These beasts grow to an incredible size..they stand at about 1.8m ( 6feet) tall and can weigh over 1,300kg (2860lbs)! Imagine a bulk of that stature charging at you without warning! His nostrils flaring, eyes glaring, hoofs kicking clouds of dust into the air, head down and pointed horns directed at us - and before we knew it, he rammed into the steel bars - the only barrier separating us. Our nerves slightly rattled, but determined to shoot a footage on our videocam, we foolishly stood our ground, for we thought we were safe with the steel barriers and all. Until we were advised to move on; another ram at the bars could well give way and there would be no telling how much damage the bull could do! The keeper suspected that the unprecedented move was provoked by the strong scent of perfume, which neither of us was wearing. Deodorant perhaps then?

In the same enclosure, a little calf stood close to its mother. The little one looked nothing like the adults. In fact, if left with a herd of domestic calves, it would have fit right in. It was covered in soft brown fur rather than the glossy, dark fur worn by adults.

The seladang's feed consists of natural vegetation collected from the nearby jungle. Their daily feed also includes salt and mineral supplement pellets so that they grow up strong and healthy. As many of the seladang adults at the centre are results of the captive breeding, providing them with vegetation easily found in the jungle will prepare them for their eventual release into the wild. There are a number of empty enclosures built by the edge of the jungle where selected seladang individuals will be housed in. These individuals will have fewer chances of contact with their keepers and other humans as they get closer to their time of release. This method, hopefully, will teach them to be more wary of humans and to fend for themselves in the wild. To date, the centre has not released any of their captives but hope to do so in the near future.

Meanwhile, the Sambar deer population is doing very well at the other end of the compound. There are about 40 deer divided into small herds of one male and several females. The survival of these docile animals has been greatly threatened due to the extensive poaching for meat and skin. Deer meat or venison has become a common dish in many Chinese restaurants, there are deer farms that supply to them. But there are a few restaurants in obscure locations that still serve 'exotic' meat; and deer, wild boar and pangolin has become quite a delicacy. (even wild cats!).

The male and female adults in the first deer enclosure are a favourite pair amongst the visitors. They recognise the keeper's call and love the attention of their audience, particularly the male.

The Jenderak Seladang and Sambar Deer Breeding Centre gives a good overview of the Wildlife Department's objectives. There is so much to do for these beasts, and there is at least a good gene pool at the centre for their future continuance. We are hopeful that one day, the seladang will be back in numbers like the bisons have in the U.S. And with a lot of help and management from the communities, who live alongside with the animals, and the authorities for the well being of our natural habitats, there will be a little light at the end of this story.

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