The horns can vary in length from 40 to over 80 cm and can be curled, sickle-shaped, bending backwards or bending downwards.īubalus bubalis is used as a draught and food animal across much of southern Asia, on the mainland from Pakistan to Vietnam, as far north as southern China, and on the maritime continent from Indonesia to the Philippines. Horn length and shape are very variable, and are typical of the individual breed. They have long tails with a tuft of hair at the end. White spots all over the body or only on the front and tail switch, as well as albinos, are common only in some breeds.īuffalo have limited body hair and appear nearly hairless. The size of adult animals is very variable height at the withers can range from 115 to 150 cm in males and 115 to 145 cm in females, and body weight can range from 200 kg to 800 kg (females) and 1000 kg (males).Ĭoat colour varies from jet black to dark grey and dark brown. The rump is broad and slightly sloping and the pin bones are prominent. In males the rear portion is light and the front portion very heavy. In females, the front portion of the body is light and narrow, while the rear portion is heavy and wide. They have deep and wide frames, short limbs, heavy bones and a large and well-developed barrel. They are massive and stocky animals, with a huge variety of weight and height at withers. Buffaloes are widespread from East Asia to the Middle East and in each country or region peculiar morphologies have developed.
#Average age of water buffalo plus#
There are at least 22 different described breeds, plus several non-descript types, so it is impossible to describe a common morphology in the same way that it would be for cattle. River buffalo also have more curved horns than swamp buffalo. 325 – 450 kg and are considerably smaller. Males of subspecies kerabau (swamp buffalo) weigh approx. 450 – 1000 kg and can stand 1.5 – 1.8 m high at the shoulder. Subspecies bubalis (river buffalo) is larger - males weigh approx. bubalis is a large ruminant with prominent horns, splayed hooves and a brown or dark grey coat. arnee as a separate species ( Werner, 2014). The international consensus is that there are two subspecies of B. The IUCN red list ( IUCN, 2014) does not recognise B. bubalis is endangered in its native India, which is true only with reference to the wild type B. This reflects some confusion within the literature with many stating that “wild” B. (2002) describe three subspecies, bubalis, kerebao (equivalent to carabensis), and fulva (equivalent to B. Buffalo were domesticated from the arnee ( Bubalus arnee), a wild bovid found in Nepal, eastern India and other countries of southern Asia ( IUCN, 2014 Lei et al. carabensis also appears in the literature but is at least approximately equivalent in meaning to B. The most widely accepted taxonomy and nomenclature has two subspecies, the river buffalo ( B. While there have been several introductions in Africa, the species does not seem to be invasive or widely kept there, probably due to susceptibility to trypanosomiasis and competition with native buffalo ( Syncerus caffer).īubalus bubalis belongs to the mammalian family Bovidae. Other introductions into the Caribbean area for domestic purposes were made in the last 50 years there are no feral herds there. The species was introduced to South America in the 20 th century and is now widely kept, with some feral populations. The 19th century introductions into northern Australia (1826-1866) have resulted in the rapid spread of wild populations in wetland habitats and growth to high population densities, with adverse effects on ecosystems programmes to eradicate the buffalo there were partially successful in the 1980s but today the feral buffalo thrive in the vast unoccupied floodplains of the monsoonal tropics of Australia.
Throughout this region the species exists mainly as domesticated animals, with some small feral populations. It has been introduced widely and used in domesticated herds for thousands of years across southern mainland Asia, Southeast Asia, and the the Middle East, and for at least two thousand years in far northeastern Africa and southern Europe, all areas where it is seen as naturalised and not invasive.
The Asian water buffalo, Bubalus bubalis, was domesticated independently in India and China from a wild stock resembling Bubalus arnee 4000 – 5000 years ago.
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