Water Buffalo

Buffaloes are commonly seen everywhere around. The other common names of the water buffalo are domestic buffalo and the Asian water buffalo. They belong to the mammalian species. The primary reason for water buffalo being called Asian water buffalo is that these animals are predominantly found in Asian countries such as India, China. A breed of water buffalo is also found in Southeast Asian countries and European countries. Rare occurrences of the water buffalo are also found in North America, South America, Australia, and a few African countries. Broadly speaking there are two water buffalo breeds, namely the riverine water buffalo and the swamp water buffalo. Riverine water buffalo as the name suggests, live in rivers. They are found in the subcontinent, Egypt and Italy. On the other hand, swamp buffalo is a rarer breed. They live in swamp waters. These buffaloes are mainly found in Assam and West Bengal and are also called Indian water buffalo. 

The Origin of the Riverine Water Buffalo

The ancestry of the riverine water buffalo can be dated back to approximately 5000 years. The ancestry of the domestic water buffalo is found to be the wild water buffalo, another breed of water buffaloes. 

On the contrary, swamp water buffalo find their origin in China's Yangtze River. They originated almost 4000 years back and are a relatively newer breed when compared to its counterpart. 

The Historic Significance of Water Buffalo

Upon reading about the origin of water buffaloes, you must be wondering, if they originated in India and China, how are they found in foreign lands like Europe and Australia. Well, this is mainly because of trade. In the ancient world, trade and travel flourished like never before. Water Buffaloes were looked upon as an animal of grandeur due to their minuscule occurrence. Upon occurrences of trade, the wild water buffalo, the royal animal was traded. In return, the traders received other rare commodities and animals from foreign lands. Hence, water buffaloes got spread into different parts of the world. They then flourished and their population grew in number. Resultantly, today, a considerable population of water buffaloes is found in far-off countries as well! 

The Significance of Water Buffalo Today

At present, the total population of all the different breeds of water buffaloes is around 165 million, and 74 different breeds of water buffaloes. Numerous people from all around the world are greatly dependent on water buffaloes. Water buffaloes today are treated as livestock and are used for household needs, mostly recognized by their name domestic buffalo. Their primary use is tilling farm fields. Especially in the Southeast Asian countries and eastern India, rice farmers greatly depend on water buffaloes for tilling their rice fields. Apart from this, the milk from wild buffaloes is also sold commercially. Their milk is nutritionally rich and has high amounts of fats and proteins. Milk from water buffaloes is popular in countries like India, Britain, New Zealand, Australia, and Papua New Guinea. 

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A domestic water buffalo tilling a farm field

Physical Characteristics of Water Buffalo

• Physical Dimensions of Water Buffaloes

The water buffaloes have a typical cattle-like body structure. The size and weight of different buffaloes vary across different breeds. Their weights range from 400 to 900 Kgs. The weight of an adult water buffalo can reach a maximum of 1200 Kgs. Generally, the male water buffaloes are approximately 3 meters long and 2 meters tall. They have strong-looking horns, which curve backward for both the male water buffaloes and the female ones. However, in the domestic buffalo, the horns are not very sharp and sometimes even absent. On the other hand, female water buffaloes are approximately ⅔ the size of their male counterparts. 

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• Appetite and Diet 

The natural habitat of wild water buffaloes is swamp forests. Resultantly, they feed generally on grass and leaves found in swamp forests. Aquatic plants have a major contribution to the diet of water buffaloes. Another peculiar characteristic of water buffaloes is that they generally consume grass during the night. The domestic breeds of water buffaloes however are fed with fodder, bananas, dates, and nutritionally rich foods. This helps in increasing the productivity of the buffaloes, makes them stronger, and enhances the quality of milk greatly. More nutritious is the diet, higher is the yield of milk and better is its quality.

• The Lifestyle of Water Buffaloes

Water buffaloes are rather lazy animals and prefer to rest during the day. During the daytime, they simply gaze under the sun in water up to their nostrils. To cool themselves, they often shovel the water from the swamp onto their upper body using their horns. This keeps them cool in hot summers and also helps them avoid being bitten by insects. The wild buffaloes generally prefer living in a group. 5-6 cows live along with a Bull and the young buffaloes live along with their parents and other buffaloes. Herds of water buffaloes contain approximately 30 buffaloes. An important thing about wild buffaloes is that they have a very sharp sense of smell. This is an adaptation to save themselves from predators. If their sense of smell, senses a predator, they quickly group up and move away from the predator with their horns lowered. This a defensive strategy that wild buffaloes use to survive without being hunted down by the predators of the jungle. 

• The Reproductive System of Water Buffaloes

Since they are mammals, they are viviparous in nature. This means that the offspring are nurtured in the mother's womb before they are born. The gestation period of water buffaloes is 10-11 months. This means that the offspring grows for approximately 10-11 months before finally being born. The approximate life expectancy of water buffaloes is 40 years. However, this is true only in the case of domestic breeds. The wild water buffaloes are comparatively short-lived. This is because of the various dangers of the forest. Fierce predators and adverse living conditions of the forest contribute to the short-lived life expectancy of the wild water buffalo breeds. 

• The Peculiar Hooves of Water Buffaloes

The hooves of wild buffaloes are another peculiar feature of these wild creatures. Since they live in swamped forests which are highly marshy, it's very difficult for them to walk. The mud is extremely soft which generates a vacuum-like effect and sucks them inside. Hence, their hooves are built differently to help them walk properly without being sucked in the marshy mud. Their hooves have a large surface area and are splayed. Their hooves contain two flexible joints, this helps allow flexible and easy motion through the marshy land.

• Other Important Physical Features

The colour of their external skin is generally dark. Ranging from black to slate grey. Swamp buffaloes have grey skin when they are born. However, with time as they grow up the colour transforms to slate Blue.

• Structural Differences Between Riverine Water Buffalo and Swamp Water Buffalo.

Well, we've already seen one major difference between riverine water buffaloes and swamp water buffaloes. That is the life expectancy. However, there are other structural differences between the two water buffalo breeds as well. The face of river buffaloes are comparatively longer and they have a smaller girth. Another key difference that can be observed is that the limbs of riverine water buffaloes are considerably longer in comparison to swamp water buffaloes. Swamp buffaloes are heavier than the riverine ones and are also shorter. They have a stout build and are stronger. This is mainly because of the habitat, swamped water buffaloes live in adverse conditions and have several threats to their life. Hence, they have a stronger build and sharper horns. Apart from physical features, the riverine water buffalo and the swamp water buffalo also differ in the number of chromosomes. The riverine water buffalo has 50 chromosomes, whereas swamp water buffaloes have just 48 chromosomes. A fertile crossbreed is however possible between both these breeds. However, the chances of survival of the crossbred animal are minuscule. 

Amazing Facts about Water Buffalo!

• Water Buffaloes are the Largest Bovine Creatures

Bovine creatures generally refer to all the animals sharing their ancestors with cows. Water buffaloes are the largest bovine creatures, they can hit the 2650 pounds mark on the weighing scale and can grow as much as 6 ft tall. 

• Water Buffaloes are Nicknamed "Living Tractors of the East"

The Eastern part of the world, i.e. countries like India, Bangladesh, eastern china, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and other southeast Asian countries have marshy lands in abundance. This is because these countries lie in the tropical region and hence experience immense rainfall. Hence, there are several swamped marshy regions. In such terrains, a tractor cannot move since the mud will engulf the tires. However, water buffaloes can move easily in such a terrain due to the peculiar structure of their hooves. Hence, they are used for tilling lands in such regions and are rightfully called "living tractors of the east".

• Wild Buffaloes Can Be Aggressive

The domestic buffalo is pretty gentle and easygoing. However, this does not stand true in the case of wild water buffaloes. Since they live in the wild, wild water buffaloes must be fit enough to survive the hazards of the jungle. Hence, they can get aggressive while trying to protect their lives. They also are quick runners and can notch up to 30 mph on the speedometer in spite of being heavily weighted. 

• Water Buffaloes are One of the Oldest Domesticated Animals

Water buffaloes are now being domesticated for more than 4000 years. They were in fact one of the primary sources of milk in ancient civilizations. Apart from cows, water buffaloes contribute a fair share of milk to the global milk numbers. They were actively domesticated in ancient India, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Europe. Fossils and manuscripts have been found to prove the same.