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科学 · 爪哇野牛保护

澳大利亚的野化爪哇野牛能否帮助拯救这一物种？

印度尼西亚大使希望就利用北领地的野化爪哇野牛群助力本国种群恢复展开研究会谈。这群野牛可能具有的价值，并不能抵消它们对澳大利亚栖息地造成的破坏。

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译自英文原文。

澳大利亚科堡半岛生活着约10,000头野化爪哇野牛——大约是据估计仍生活在印度尼西亚野外的数量的十倍。对于一种会破坏澳大利亚栖息地的引入动物而言，这种数量带来了一个不同寻常的可能性：这群野牛或许能成为拯救其海外极危物种的资源。印度尼西亚驻澳大利亚大使希望两国对此展开调查。⁠1

Siswo Pramono提议印度尼西亚国家公园与北领地政府开展研究合作，并可能最终将基因适宜的野牛送回印度尼西亚。但这只是开启对话的呼吁，并非已达成一致的归还计划。他告诉ABC News，双方尚未进行正式会谈；该媒体11月5日的报道没有刊载北领地政府的回应。⁠1

这一区别很重要。远离物种原生分布区的大型种群可以提供保护选择，但并不自动意味着拥有合适的动物、安全的目的地，或有理由放任当地环境损害不受控制。问题不只是澳大利亚是否应该保护爪哇野牛，而是保护能实现什么目标、惠及哪些种群，以及要以谁的生态环境为代价。

科堡半岛位于达尔文东北约200公里处，包括Garig Gunak Barlu国家公园。当地爪哇野牛的祖先是在1840年代一次失败的殖民定居尝试中，从东南亚引入的。近两个世纪后，北领地政府称该半岛拥有全球数量最多的爪哇野牛。⁠1⁠11

种群数量的估计也需要谨慎看待。科堡半岛约10,000头、印度尼西亚野外约1,000头的估计来自ABC的报道，该报道未提供调查日期或计数方法。这些并非经过独立核实的普查结果，而且印度尼西亚的数字是全国估计值，并非全球总数。⁠1

避难所，而非现成的拯救方案

该物种整体处境严峻。国际自然保护联盟物种生存委员会亚洲野牛专家组表示，2024年10月28日，爪哇野牛的受威胁等级从濒危上调至极危。此前估计其全球数量在二十年间下降了80%以上，原因包括偷猎和栖息地丧失。这一降幅并不意味着澳大利亚的引入种群也出现了类似崩溃。⁠19

北领地的爪哇野牛信息页面仍将该物种描述为易危。此表述已被后来的保护评估取代，不应将其解读为该物种的全球处境不那么紧迫。⁠11⁠19

Pramono认为，野牛在澳大利亚存续下来，保留了一个机会。他告诉ABC：“澳大利亚太了不起了，简直就像《圣经》里的诺亚方舟。”他的比喻意在说明调查这群野牛价值的必要性，并非声称爪哇野牛已在印度尼西亚灭绝。⁠1

他设想双方开展双向合作。如果北领地的部分野牛被认定在遗传上“适合”印度尼西亚的国家公园，就可能将其送回。他还建议向北领地引入更多爪哇野牛，以改善澳大利亚种群的“遗传多样性”。他希望先由北领地政府与印度尼西亚国家公园展开讨论，再让澳大利亚外交贸易部参与。两项建议都不代表已宣布实施动物转移行动。⁠1

归还或重新引入是一种可能性，但我们必须非常谨慎。

Siswo Pramono 1

有科学依据值得认真考虑这一想法。2006年的一项研究通过线粒体DNA、Y染色体测序以及编码乳铁蛋白的核基因，在澳大利亚北部发现了纯种爪哇野牛。ABC称，该研究对Garig Gunak Barlu的50多头野牛进行了调查，发现其遗传特征并非东南亚常见类型。⁠7⁠1

但确认祖源并不等于选定适合放归的动物。过去的研究发现并不能证明，如今某些爪哇野牛适合与印度尼西亚的某个特定种群混群、健康状况足以承受迁移，或有益于该种群未来的遗传多样性。这些是彼此独立的问题，需要重新评估。

另一篇2007年的论文探讨了澳大利亚种群经历数量瓶颈后遗传多样性偏低的问题。它不应与2006年的物种鉴定研究混为一谈，也不应被视为对当前个体的评估。论文所探讨的问题也不能证明Pramono提出的向澳大利亚种群增加个体的建议必然有益。遗传身份和遗传多样性是不同的考量；保护计划必须同时审视两者。⁠2⁠7

这里需要保护两处生态环境

澳大利亚面临的代价并非假设。北领地政府表示，爪哇野牛的放牧会影响植被，其踩踏会破坏沙丘生态系统和湿地。政府资料没有量化这些损失，也未证实对特定本土物种种群造成了何种影响。现有证据足以说明应认真看待这些破坏，但不应夸大为监测资料无法证明的结论。⁠11

Garig Gunak Barlu是一座由多方共同管理的国家公园。国际社会对这些野牛感兴趣，本身并不能证明公园作出了新的管理决定、设定了种群目标或改变了动物管控政策。保护价值的提案仍须符合对动物栖息地的管理责任。⁠12

慈悲保护中心主任Daniel Ramp认为，澳大利亚应在考虑自身保护需求的同时，也关注引入动物的全球处境。他特别指出，必须减轻对本土受威胁物种的影响。“我们究竟该在什么情况下，在平衡澳大利亚与全球的保护需求之间作出取舍？”他问ABC。⁠1

与其把“野化”和“濒危”视为互不相容的标签，这才是更值得思考的问题。爪哇野牛既可能给澳大利亚生态系统带来引入物种的压力，也可能是全球受威胁物种中具有保护价值的一个种群。承认其中一点，并不会抹去另一点。

印度尼西亚的接收地也需要保护。当地爪哇野牛受到偷猎、栖息地丧失和与家畜竞争的威胁，而种群相互隔离则使其面临遗传漂变的风险——即遗传变异在世代间发生的随机变化。送回野牛本身无法解决这些压力，也无法证明接收地有足够安全的栖息地供其存续。⁠21

已知

  • 这位大使提议开展研究合作，并有条件地将野牛送回印度尼西亚。他表示，双方尚未进行正式会谈。 1

未知

  • 现有报道并未证实双方已达成转移协议，也未确定接收公园、动物数量、时间表或获批的放归计划。

后续

  • 关注官方回应，以及是否决定委托开展遗传、动物健康和接收地评估。

北领地有关野生动物迁移的一般指南列明了提案和许可要求，但这并不能证明有人针对爪哇野牛提交了申请或获得批准。必须分别确认行政许可、动物是否适宜以及生态效益，而不能仅凭种群规模想当然。⁠14

Pramono指出的是一种可能有价值的资源，而不是一份已经成形的拯救计划。他的提议若要得到最佳落实，就不应以牺牲任何一方的种群或栖息地为代价：应检验澳大利亚的爪哇野牛能否助力印度尼西亚的种群恢复，同时减少其对现有栖息地造成的破坏。这个机会确实值得调查。它能否转化为有效保护，仍是未知数。

播出原貌
  1. Cobourg Peninsula holds the world's largest population of banteng, a critically endangered wild cattle species. Indonesia's ambassador wants the introduced Australian herd protected as a possible resource for recovery back home. But these animals also damage Australian habitats. Can that herd help Indonesia's wild banteng recover while protecting the landscapes it damages?
  2. The herd lives about 200 kilometres north-east of Darwin, on Cobourg Peninsula. Garig Gunak Barlu National Park is there, far from the Indonesian populations that might eventually receive some of these animals.
  3. About 10,000 banteng are estimated to live on the peninsula, compared with about 1,000 remaining in the wild in Indonesia. Those estimates describe an Australian feral population and Indonesia's wild animals. The Indonesian figure covers that country alone.
  4. The Australian animals descend from banteng brought from South-East Asia during a failed colonial settlement in the 1840s. Their descendants have survived here for almost two centuries. That survival gives Indonesia's ambassador to Australia, Siswo Pramono, a reason to pursue conservation cooperation.
  5. Pramono says some animals could return to Indonesia if they're genetically suitable for its national parks. He also says no formal talks have taken place. He wants research cooperation to begin between Indonesian national parks and the Northern Territory government.
  6. He would bring Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade into the conversation afterward. His proposal also runs in the other direction. He suggests bringing more banteng into the Northern Territory to improve the Australian herd's genetic variety. Both ideas would need assessment.
  7. Banteng numbers globally are estimated to have fallen by more than 80 percent over two decades, driven by poaching and habitat loss. That decline underpinned the species' move from endangered to critically endangered on October 28, 2024.
  8. A Northern Territory government information page still describes banteng as vulnerable, conflicting with that later conservation assessment. The global decline describes the species' wider crisis. Australia's large introduced herd has followed a different path, making its possible conservation value worth investigating.
  9. Researchers identified pure-strain banteng genetics in more than 50 animals sampled in Garig Gunak Barlu in 2006. Those genetics weren't typically seen in South-East Asia. A separate 2007 study addressed low genetic diversity in the Australian population after its narrow founding bottleneck.
  10. The 2006 researchers examined mitochondrial DNA, the Y chromosome and a nuclear gene linked to the protein lactoferrin. Their finding identified the animals' ancestry. Choosing animals for a return would require fresh checks of their health and compatibility with a receiving herd.
  11. Banteng grazing changes vegetation, and their trampling damages sand-dune ecosystems and wetlands. Those are local costs that protection would have to address. Garig Gunak Barlu is jointly managed, so international interest in the herd also meets existing responsibilities for the park.
  12. Pramono likens Australia to Noah's ark because animals threatened in their original homes can survive here. He sees that survival as an opportunity to help preserve the species. Conservation expert Daniel Ramp places habitat protection alongside that international responsibility.
  13. Ramp says impacts on native threatened species should be reduced wherever they occur. He also argues that Australia should consider the global conservation status of introduced animals. His challenge is how to meet both responsibilities when they pull management in different directions.
  14. Indonesia's wild banteng still face poaching and habitat loss. Livestock competition adds pressure, while isolated populations risk losing genetic variety through chance changes over generations. Returning animals would have to fit a wider recovery effort that tackles those threats.
  15. A large herd overseas can offer potential breeding animals, but recovery also requires suitable receiving habitat and protection. Researchers would need to assess how many animals a receiving site could support, and whether mixing populations would help their long-term survival.
  16. Pramono's immediate request is to start the conversation. Turning it into a workable plan would require genetic, animal-health and receiving-site assessments, alongside the necessary permissions. The Northern Territory government's response to his proposal hasn't been announced.
  17. The Australian herd offers a potentially valuable resource for Indonesian recovery. Using it successfully would mean protecting native Australian habitats while choosing animals suited to a receiving herd. Those animals would also need a protected home where enough habitat remains to sustain them.

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