B. javanicus apparently does not have to drink as often as B. gaurus. The banteng is usually found in groups of 2-40 animals. Generally, there is only a single fully adult bull per herd. Other males either are solitary or live in unisexual groups. Mating may occur at any time of year in captivity but takes place in May and June in the wild in Thailand.
Females are capable of giving birth each year.
It has disappeared in many areas through loss of habitat to the expanding human population, hunting pressure, and hybridization with domestic cattle. Several thousand individuals are still thought to survive from Burma to Borneo, but numbers are decreasing. In contrast, there now are an estimated 1.5 million domestic banteng, which are used as work animals and for the production of excellent meat. It is thought that domestication occurred in prehistoric times on Bali and Sumbawa and that the animals subsequently were brought to Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Sulawesi, Lombok, Timor, other small islands in the East Indies, and northern Australia. Feral herds now are established in Australia and some other areas.