Today, the largest of the buffalo family is considered to be the Indian buffalo, which is also called the Water buffalo or Asian Arnie. The homeland of this large artiodactyl is India. The animal received the name “Asian” because of its typical habitat - Asia, “water” - because buffaloes cannot live without water. Interesting cases are known when a buffalo harnessed to a cart, encountering a pond on the way, fell into the water and lay there for a long time, and no force could pull it out of there.
general information
The Asian buffalo has six subspecies, they are united by common characteristic external features: powerful horns, semicircular, slightly turned back. They are formidable weapons and are equally dangerous to both animals and people.
The height of a buffalo reaches 2 meters, its average weight is 900 kg, but it can reach 1200 kg. The body length reaches 4 meters, the legs are long in comparison with other species of relatives. Buffalo females are much smaller in size compared to males. In their natural environment, the life expectancy of buffaloes is quite high - they live up to 26 years.
Indian buffalo
The buffalo in India is common along with cows, which are considered sacred in this country and calmly walk the streets. Currently, the buffalo is gradually mixing with them and losing its authenticity. As a species, it currently exists in nature reserves and parks.
These huge animals are also common in areas of Asia and Australia, where there is mandatory 24-hour access to water.
Evolution of wild buffalo in relation to domestication
Domesticated animals differ from their wild relatives in their calmer disposition. Due to the fact that domestic buffaloes are most often used as draft power, they have lost some of the features characteristic of wild artiodactyls. For example, their body lost its former elasticity and slenderness, became heavier, and a saggy belly appeared.
On the farm, buffaloes are used as draft power instead of horses, since neither meat nor milk is suitable for consumption. The milk is too fatty and is used only for making cheese and as feed for calves. The meat, even from young buffalo, is too tough.
Indian buffalo at a watering hole
As domestic cattle, buffaloes are unpretentious in their diet, easily adapt to their living environment, and are highly fertile with normal care. Therefore, today they can be found in many European farms. However, they are only suitable as draft power.
Attention! Some elite varieties of cheese are made from buffalo milk.
Breeding at home
Important! The main condition for keeping them at home is grazing on open pasture and access to water, preferably standing water. Swampy lakes or slow-moving rivers are ideal.
The main diet consists of aquatic plants:
- seaweed;
- marsh grasses;
- meadow plants.
Puberty in females occurs after 3 years, but they become fertile after another two years. The uterus carries the calf for approximately 10 months. After birth, the baby is able to stand on its feet and follow its mother within 15 minutes.
Shepherds do not graze buffaloes together with domestic cattle, as clashes between wild animals and domestic bulls are possible. Sometimes there are real fights over cows, where the winner is always the wild representative. In addition, mating wild bulls with domestic cows leads to decreased fertility and reduced milk production. And the calves born from such a relationship are distinguished by their aggressiveness and rebellious disposition. Therefore, buffaloes are grazed separately.
On the farm, they compare favorably with cows and horses, since to feed them in winter they need half the amount of feed that needs to be stored in summer. Since these animals are thermophilic, there is a possibility that they may not survive the cold that is typical for most regions of Russia. However, there are facts indicating that these animals can be raised in the country.
Domestic buffalo
Farmers who dare to breed these exotic artiodactyls willingly share their experience of breeding at home. According to some livestock breeders, heat-loving animals do not always successfully adapt to the cold conditions of Russian winters. Other farmers say buffalo cope well with unfavorable conditions.
At first, buffaloes will not bring profit, since they are herd animals with an established organization and the absence of some members of the herd may negatively affect the rest. Therefore, farmers recommend breeding at least one hundred heads. In this case, we can talk about profit.
Important! Domesticated buffalo meat is considered exotic and costs about twice as much as veal. It is often ordered by owners of exotic restaurants. Veterinarians recommend buffalo meat as dietary product for older people, as it does not contain much fat and carbohydrates.
Thus, domesticated buffaloes have a number of advantages and are quite interesting for breeding. However, farmers should take into account a number of features, such as mandatory access to water and unpredictable temperament.
The African buffalo (in Latin Syncerus caffer) is the largest bull in existence today. Adult males can sometimes reach a weight of more than 1000 kg, while representatives of 700-900 kg are quite common. At the withers, the height reaches 1.85 m, and the length of the body exceeds three meters.
The black African buffalo is a very powerful and capricious representative of the group. It has a widespread distribution throughout Africa. Although a member of the bovine subfamily, it is still individual and belongs to a special genus - Syncerus, with one species.
The buffalo is covered with thinning coarse hair of black or dark gray color. The physique is dense and weighty. The head is low - the top is located below the back line. The front hooves are significantly larger than the rear to support the weight of the body. Has an elongated tail with a tassel at the tip; The large ears are edged with elongated wool. Females are inferior in weight and physique to males.
The distinctive feature of the African buffalo is its horns. The bases of which are connected on the forehead of individuals that have reached puberty, creating a defensive helmet that even a bullet fired from a rifle cannot break. Cows have much smaller horns, just like representatives of buffaloes found in the forests. Possessing terrible eyesight, the African buffalo can navigate perfectly using its sense of smell and hearing.
In the 19th century, researchers divided buffalo into 90 subspecies. Now it is generally accepted that the existing races and forms of the animal are one species, which consists of several subspecies. It is best preserved in eastern and southern Africa, where human presence is less noticeable, from vast shrouds to tropical thickets. Sometimes it is observed in the mountains at an altitude of 3000m. Places of stay are inextricably linked with water.
The buffalo is a herd animal. The herd does not have a specific habitat area, but still the group tries to stay in a certain area, moving along constant routes. In herds, a strict hierarchy is maintained. During the mating season, bulls often resort to ritual fights for primacy. The fights look impressive, but they do not cause significant damage. Cows bear offspring for 10-11 months.
In the photo above are black African buffalos:
Such a huge animal does not have many natural opponents. But calves and cows often represent prey for lions. Usually, when an entire pride is attacked, the buffaloes against the lions stand in a circle, placing the cows and calves in the center. With a small number of individuals, lions do not attack. It's amazing that these animals are capable of mutual assistance. There are many documented situations where buffaloes not only drove lions away and killed them.
Watch the video film— African buffalos and lions.
Video - Buffalo vs lion.
And one more film: South Africa. Juma's buffaloes at a watering hole.
The Indian or water buffalo is a large animal from the bovid family. Well adapted to living conditions in tropical climates, resistant to most tropical diseases. Nutritional requirements are low, the animal eats even marshy vegetation.
The Indian buffalo is one of the largest bulls. The body length of adult individuals exceeds 3 meters. Height at the withers is about 2 m, weight is from 1000 to 1200 kg. Two-meter horns are directed to the sides and back, their shape is semi-lunar, the cross-section is flattened, which is the main difference from similar type- African buffalo. Females have either small horns or none at all. The body is covered with coarse but sparse blackish-brown fur.
The diet of the Indian buffalo consists of coastal and aquatic plants, which are more important than terrestrial grasses. Grazing occurs at dawn and at night; the animals spend their entire day lying down in liquid mud.
Wild Indian buffaloes are found in countries such as India, Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, and Ceylon. In the 19th century, the species was also found in Malaysia, but now it no longer lives there, and in the Philippines there lived a dwarf subspecies that became extinct.
Initially, the historical range of Indian buffaloes was very wide and covered the territory from Mesopotamia to southern China. Nowadays, animals are found mainly in protected areas, where, having become accustomed to people, they are no longer completely wild. In the 19th century, the species was introduced to Australia, in the north of the country.
The decline in the range and number of Indian buffalo in Asia is associated not with hunting, which is limited, but with destruction natural environment habitat of the species, plowing of lands and settlement of remote areas. Another problem is the crossing of wild buffalo with domestic buffalo, due to which the purity of the blood is lost.
Common types of Indian buffalo
Several subspecies for the Indian buffalo are distinguished according to their habitats and distribution:
- Bubalus arnee arnee - found in eastern India and Nepal;
- Bubalus arnee fulvus - the largest subspecies in size, lives in Assam and surrounding areas;
- Bubalus arnee theerapati - distributed in the south and west of the Indochina Peninsula;
- Bubalus arnee migona - is an inhabitant of Ceylon and Sri Lanka;
- Bubalus bubalis bubalis is a domesticated subspecies of the Asian buffalo, also known as the river buffalo.
Manifestations of sexual dimorphism for the Indian buffalo are that females are smaller than males in size, and they either have no horns at all or are very small, while in males this branched decoration reaches 2 m.
Animals live in small groups, which include an old bull, several young bulls and females with calves. The hierarchy in general is not very strict. The old bull may stay away from the others, but in case of danger he watches the group and urges on those lagging behind. During the movement of the herd, old females go in front, calves remain in the middle, and young individuals remain in the rear. Old males are very uncooperative, so they often live alone. Such individuals are very dangerous, as they can attack a person without good reasons.
Like most inhabitants of the tropics, the breeding season of the Indian buffalo is not associated with any one season and can occur throughout the year. The duration of pregnancy is 300-340 days, and one calf is always born. The fur of a newborn calf is fluffy yellow-brown. The female feeds him with milk for 6-9 months. Young animals become sexually mature at the age of 2 years.
Natural enemies for the Indian buffalo are rare. Predators, such as red wolves and leopards, attack calves, juveniles and females, but adult bulls remain difficult prey for them. They are at risk of being attacked only by tigers, swamp and saltwater crocodiles. On individual islands Indian buffalos of all ages are attacked by Komodo dragons, eating them alive, tearing their tendons. Young animals often die from hot weather and various diseases.
The main threat to the Indian buffalo population remains human activity: hunting and destruction of the animal’s natural habitat.
- The Indian buffalo was domesticated by humans in ancient times. The domestic variety is distinguished by a calm disposition, short horns, and physique - the belly is strongly convex, sagging, in contrast to the lean wild buffalo. The domestic buffalo is one of the main farmed animal species in southeast Asia, India, southern China, the Malay Islands, and also in Italy. The animal was brought to Japan, Hawaii, Latin America, to Sudan and other countries of eastern Africa, to the island of Madagascar. The species is cultivated in Transcaucasia and Ukraine. These animals are used as draft power, for cultivating rice fields, and also as dairy cattle. The milk is fattier than that of cows, and the famous Italian mozzarella cheese is made from it. The meat of animals is very tough and is practically not consumed as food.
- Large wild Indian buffaloes with large horns for a long time attracted hunters. But now, due to a noticeable decline in the population, hunting for this species is either prohibited or limited. Only in Australia do buffalos remain an important game animal. It is very difficult to wound a buffalo, and after being wounded the animal becomes very dangerous, so such a hunt requires great skill.
- In India, cow meat, as a sacred animal, is not eaten, but “beef” and “veal” are nevertheless found on the market. This is due to the fact that religious prohibitions do not apply to buffalo, and buffalo meat is sold as “beef”, but it is distinguished by its taste and very high toughness.
- In southeast Asia (Vietnam, Thailand, Laos), domestic buffalo fighting remains one of the favorite folk pastimes. The tallest of them are prepared in advance for such competitions; the animals undergo special training, and they are also fed according to certain schemes. The fights take place without the participation of people: the bulls are taken to the platforms one against the other, where they butt heads until one of them runs away or shows undoubted signs of defeat (for example, falls at the feet of the winner). Such fights are quite rarely bloody; usually buffaloes are not inclined to cause serious damage to each other. IN Lately Such buffalo fights are a popular spectacle for the entertainment of tourists.
In most places, buffalo now live in strictly protected areas, where they have become accustomed to humans and are no longer wild in the strict sense of the word. The Indian buffalo was also brought to Australia in the 19th century and spread widely in the north of the continent.
- B. bubalis bubalis
- B. bubalis arnee
- B. bubalis fulvus
- B. bubalis kerabau
- B. bubalis migona
- B. bubalis theerapati
Buffalo and man
The Indian buffalo has been domesticated since ancient times. The domestic buffalo differs from the wild buffalo in its calmer disposition, shorter (as a rule) horns, and also in its physique - its belly is very convex, sagging, while the wild buffalo is much leaner.
The domestic buffalo is one of the main farm animals in the countries of Southeast Asia, India, southern China, and the islands of the Malay Archipelago. There are many domestic buffaloes in the countries of Southern Europe, especially Italy, where they apparently came with the Arabs in the 8th-9th centuries. The domestic buffalo was introduced to Japan, Hawaii, and Latin America. There are a lot of domestic buffaloes in Sudan and other countries in East Africa and on the island of Madagascar. Buffalo has long been cultivated in Transcaucasia. Buffaloes are also bred in the Transcarpathian region and Lviv region in Ukraine. 
Buffalo are used mainly as draft power, especially when cultivating rice fields, and also as dairy cattle, although the productivity of buffaloes is several times lower than that of dairy cows. However, buffalo milk is fattier than cow milk. Buffalo meat, even calves, is very tough, so it is not often eaten.
A large wild buffalo with large horns is a desirable trophy for a hunter. However, in most countries where wild buffalo remain, hunting them is either prohibited or strictly limited. The only exception is Australia, where buffalo is an important game animal. The buffalo is strong when wounded, and when wounded it is very dangerous. Therefore, large-caliber weapons are used for hunting, usually no smaller than .375 H&H Magnum or .416 Rigby.
Notable Facts
- Famous Italian mozzarella cheese the right recipe made from buffalo milk.
- In India, where the cow is a sacred animal for the majority of the population and is not subject to slaughter for meat, however, you can often find beef and veal on sale. This paradox is explained by the fact that the religious prohibition does not apply to buffaloes, so what is sold under the name “beef” is nothing more than buffalo meat. It is different from real beef to taste, besides, buffalo is much tougher than beef.
- In a number of places South-East Asia(some areas of Vietnam, Thailand, Laos) to your loved ones folk pastimes include fights of domestic buffaloes.
The tallest bulls are prepared for competitions long ago, trained and fattened in a special way. The fight takes place without human participation - the bulls are brought onto the site one against the other and butt until one runs away from the battlefield or shows undoubted signs of defeat (for example, falls at the feet of the winner). The fight is very rarely bloody - usually the buffaloes do not cause any serious damage to each other. In recent decades, buffalo fights have also become a popular spectacle for tourists.
Write a review on the article "Asian buffalo"
Notes
Links
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Excerpt characterizing the Asiatic buffalo
And in front of the company with different rows About twenty people ran out. The drummer began to sing and turned his face to the songwriters, and, waving his hand, began a drawn-out soldier’s song, which began: “Isn’t it dawn, the sun has broken...” and ended with the words: “So, brothers, there will be glory for us and Kamensky’s father...” This song was composed in Turkey and was now sung in Austria, only with the change that in place of “Kamensky’s father” the words were inserted: “Kutuzov’s father.”Having torn off these last words like a soldier and waving his hands, as if he was throwing something to the ground, the drummer, a dry and handsome soldier of about forty, looked sternly at the soldier songwriters and closed his eyes. Then, making sure that all eyes were fixed on him, he seemed to carefully lift with both hands some invisible, precious thing above his head, held it like that for several seconds and suddenly desperately threw it:
Oh, you, my canopy, my canopy!
“My new canopy...”, twenty voices echoed, and the spoon holder, despite the weight of his ammunition, quickly jumped forward and walked backwards in front of the company, moving his shoulders and threatening someone with his spoons. The soldiers, waving their arms to the beat of the song, walked with long strides, involuntarily hitting their feet. From behind the company the sounds of wheels, the crunching of springs and the trampling of horses were heard.
Kutuzov and his retinue were returning to the city. The commander-in-chief gave a sign for the people to continue walking freely, and pleasure was expressed on his face and on all the faces of his retinue at the sounds of the song, at the sight of the dancing soldier and the soldiers of the company walking cheerfully and briskly. In the second row, from the right flank, from which the carriage overtook the companies, one involuntarily caught the eye of a blue-eyed soldier, Dolokhov, who especially briskly and gracefully walked to the beat of the song and looked at the faces of those passing with such an expression, as if he felt sorry for everyone who did not go at this time with the company. A hussar cornet from Kutuzov's retinue, imitating the regimental commander, fell behind the carriage and drove up to Dolokhov.
The hussar cornet Zherkov at one time in St. Petersburg belonged to that violent society led by Dolokhov. Abroad, Zherkov met Dolokhov as a soldier, but did not consider it necessary to recognize him. Now, after Kutuzov’s conversation with the demoted man, he turned to him with the joy of an old friend:
- Dear friend, how are you? - he said at the sound of the song, matching the step of his horse with the step of the company.
- I am like? - Dolokhov answered coldly, - as you see.
The lively song gave particular significance to the tone of cheeky gaiety with which Zherkov spoke and the deliberate coldness of Dolokhov’s answers.
- Well, how do you get along with your boss? – asked Zherkov.
- Nothing, good people. How did you get into the headquarters?
- Seconded, on duty.
They were silent.
“She released a falcon from her right sleeve,” said the song, involuntarily arousing a cheerful, cheerful feeling. Their conversation would probably have been different if they had not spoken to the sound of a song.
– Is it true that the Austrians were beaten? – asked Dolokhov.
“The devil knows them,” they say.
“I’m glad,” Dolokhov answered briefly and clearly, as the song required.
“Well, come to us in the evening, you’ll pawn the pharaoh,” said Zherkov.
– Or do you have a lot of money?
- Come.
- It is forbidden. I made a vow. I don’t drink or gamble until they make it.
- Well, on to the first thing...
- We'll see there.
Again they were silent.
“You come in if you need anything, everyone at headquarters will help...” said Zherkov.
Dolokhov grinned.
- You better not worry. I won’t ask for anything I need, I’ll take it myself.
- Well, I’m so...
- Well, so am I.
- Goodbye.
- Be healthy…
... and high and far,
On the home side...
Zherkov touched his spurs to the horse, which, getting excited, kicked three times, not knowing which one to start with, managed and galloped off, overtaking the company and catching up with the carriage, also to the beat of the song.
Returning from the review, Kutuzov, accompanied by the Austrian general, went into his office and, calling the adjutant, ordered to be given some papers related to the state of the arriving troops, and letters received from Archduke Ferdinand, who commanded the advanced army. Prince Andrei Bolkonsky entered the commander-in-chief's office with the required papers. Kutuzov and an Austrian member of the Gofkriegsrat sat in front of the plan laid out on the table.
“Ah...” said Kutuzov, looking back at Bolkonsky, as if with this word he was inviting the adjutant to wait, and continued the conversation he had begun in French.
“I’m just saying one thing, General,” Kutuzov said with a pleasant grace of expression and intonation, which forced you to listen carefully to every leisurely spoken word. It was clear that Kutuzov himself enjoyed listening to himself. “I only say one thing, General, that if the matter depended on my personal desire, then the will of His Majesty Emperor Franz would have been fulfilled long ago.” I would have joined the Archduke long ago. And believe my honor that for me personally to transfer the highest command of the army to a more knowledgeable and skilled general than me, of which Austria is so abundant, and to relinquish all this heavy responsibility would be a joy for me personally. But circumstances are stronger than us, General.
And Kutuzov smiled with an expression as if he was saying: “You have every right not to believe me, and even I don’t care at all whether you believe me or not, but you have no reason to tell me this. And that’s the whole point.”
The Austrian general looked dissatisfied, but could not help but respond to Kutuzov in the same tone.
“On the contrary,” he said in a grumpy and angry tone, so contrary to the flattering meaning of the words he spoke, “on the contrary, your Excellency’s participation in the common cause is highly valued by His Majesty; but we believe that the present slowdown deprives the glorious Russian troops and their commanders-in-chief of the laurels that they are accustomed to reaping in battles,” he finished his apparently prepared phrase.
Kutuzov bowed without changing his smile.
“And I am so convinced and, based on the last letter with which His Highness Archduke Ferdinand honored me, I assume that the Austrian troops, under the command of such a skillful assistant as General Mack, have now won a decisive victory and no longer need our help,” said Kutuzov.
The general frowned. Although there was no positive news about the defeat of the Austrians, there were too many circumstances that confirmed the general unfavorable rumors; and therefore Kutuzov’s assumption about the victory of the Austrians was very similar to ridicule. But Kutuzov smiled meekly, still with the same expression, which said that he had the right to assume this. Really, last letter, which he received from Mac's army, informed him of the victory and the most advantageous strategic position of the army.
“Give me this letter here,” said Kutuzov, turning to Prince Andrei. - If you please see. - And Kutuzov, with a mocking smile at the ends of his lips, read in German to the Austrian general the following passage from a letter from Archduke Ferdinand: “Wir haben vollkommen zusammengehaltene Krafte, nahe an 70,000 Mann, um den Feind, wenn er den Lech passirte, angreifen und schlagen zu konnen. Wir konnen, da wir Meister von Ulm sind, den Vortheil, auch von beiden Uferien der Donau Meister zu bleiben, nicht verlieren; mithin auch jeden Augenblick, wenn der Feind den Lech nicht passirte, die Donau ubersetzen, uns auf seine Communikations Linie werfen, die Donau unterhalb repassiren und dem Feinde, wenn er sich gegen unsere treue Allirte mit ganzer Macht wenden wollte, seine Absicht alabald vereitelien. Wir werden auf solche Weise den Zeitpunkt, wo die Kaiserlich Ruseische Armee ausgerustet sein wird, muthig entgegenharren, und sodann leicht gemeinschaftlich die Moglichkeit finden, dem Feinde das Schicksal zuzubereiten, so er verdient.” [We have quite concentrated forces, about 70,000 people, so that we can attack and defeat the enemy if he crosses Lech. Since we already own Ulm, we can retain the benefit of command of both banks of the Danube, therefore, every minute, if the enemy does not cross the Lech, cross the Danube, rush to his communication line, and below cross the Danube back to the enemy, if he decides to turn all his power on our faithful allies, prevent his intention from being fulfilled. In this way we will cheerfully await the time when the imperial Russian army will be completely prepared, and then together we will easily find the opportunity to prepare for the enemy the fate he deserves.”]
Kutuzov sighed heavily, ending this period, and looked attentively and affectionately at the member of the Gofkriegsrat.
“But you know, Your Excellency, the wise rule is to assume the worst,” said the Austrian general, apparently wanting to end the jokes and get down to business.
He involuntarily looked back at the adjutant.
“Excuse me, General,” Kutuzov interrupted him and also turned to Prince Andrei. - That's it, my dear, take all the reports from our spies from Kozlovsky. Here are two letters from Count Nostitz, here is a letter from His Highness Archduke Ferdinand, here is another,” he said, handing him several papers. - And from all this, purely, on French, compose a memorandum, a note, to show all the news that we had about the actions of the Austrian army. Well, then, introduce him to his Excellency.
Species: Bubalus bubalis (arnee) Linnaeus, 1758 = Asiatic [Indian] buffalo
Wild Asian buffalo = Bubalus bubalis
The Indian buffalo as a domestic animal exists in many South Asian countries and other places where it is widely used as a domestic animal. However, in the wild state the buffalo has now become very rare.
In past times it inhabited most of the Brahmaputra and Gangetic plains, from eastern Assam to Uttar Pradesh; its range covered the eastern coastal plains from Bengal and south a little further than the Godavari River.
Even at the end of the last century, in some places wild buffalo were found in a huge number. In 1892 Kinloch wrote that they were “very numerous” in Assam. Since then, buffalos have disappeared from most of their original range and now remain in only three places: the Brahmaputra Valley in Assam; in the lower reaches of the Godavari River, at the junction of the borders of the states of Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh; on the Saptkosi River in Nepal, near the Indian border.
Reports of wild animals from other areas (for example, from Ceylon) should not be taken into account, since they always turn out to be feral domestic buffaloes. Some authors claimed that there are wild buffalos in Kalimantan, but it has now been established that all wild buffalos in Kalimantan are descendants of the wild livestock.
The wild buffalo is noticeably different from its less powerful domestic relative. This is a powerful animal, reaching 180 centimeters at the withers, with huge black, backward-pointing horns, sometimes up to two meters long. Its horns are longer than those of all other representatives of the bovid family.
This is a powerful, aggressive beast and a very dangerous opponent. There are many known cases where a wild buffalo killed a tiger. They say that buffaloes can attack the enemy with a whole old one.
Like its domestic relative, the wild buffalo loves to lie in liquid mud, sometimes immersing itself in it entirely, with only its head exposed to the surface. A crust of mud protects the animal from the myriad of insects that constantly besiege it.
The favorite habitats of the wild buffalo are vast grassy plains where there is plenty of water. The same conditions are most attractive for humans, which was the main reason for the decline in the number of buffaloes. The cultivation of new lands led to a reduction in the animal’s range, and with the introduction firearms killing buffalo to protect crops from them has become much easier. Buffalo skin, horns and meat have always been in great demand. Additionally, grazing by livestock in the same areas where wild buffalo grazed resulted in the death of many animals from plague, a disease to which they are highly susceptible.
In 1966, the total number of wild buffaloes was estimated at 2,000 individuals. The vast majority of them (1425) were in Assam; of which about 700 are in national park Kaziranga, 400 in Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, 100 in Pabha Wildlife Sanctuary, 50 in Laokhowa district, 75 in Sankosh Manas and 100 in East Lakhimpur. On the Hindustan Peninsula, the herds in the area of the Godavari River number 400-500 individuals. About 100 buffalos live in Nepal, on the Kosi River.
Wild buffalo were brought under legal protection many years ago. Great importance for its protection, the creation of protected areas of Kaziranga, Ma-nas and Pabha was necessary. Recently, the Government of Nepal decided to establish a reserve on the Kosi River, in the eastern part of the country, mainly for the protection of buffalo, and the Government of India is currently considering recommendations for environmental research and protection of buffalo on the Godavari River, including the creation and expansion of reserves.
(D. Fisher, N. Simon, D. Vincent “The Red Book”, M., 1976)
INDIAN BUFFALO (Bubalus arnee) is one of the most big bulls: height at withers up to 180 cm, weight of males up to 1000 kg. The flattened, backward-turned horns of the Indian buffalo are huge - they reach a length of 194 cm. The body is covered with sparse and coarse blackish-brown hair.
The range of the Indian buffalo was greatly reduced already in historical time: if relatively recently it covered a vast territory, from North Africa and Mesopotamia to Central China, is now limited to small areas of Nepal, Assam, Bengal, the central provinces of India, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and southern China. The Indian buffalo is preserved in the far north of Ceylon and the northern part of Kalimantan.
The number of Indian buffalo, despite conservation measures, continues to decline. Most wild buffalos remain in Indian reserves. Thus, in the wonderful Kaziranga Nature Reserve (Assam) in 1969 there were about 700 animals. The reason for the decline in numbers is not only poaching, although it plays a significant role. The main problem is that wild buffalo easily interbreed with feral domestic ones and the “pure” species, as such, is lost. On the island of Mindoro (Philippines) in the special reserve Iglit lives a special, dwarf subspecies, slightly larger than the anoa, bearing the special name tamaraw (B. a. mindorensis). Unfortunately, the tamaraw is facing complete extinction: by 1969, about 100 animals survived. The Indian buffalo inhabits heavily swampy jungles and river valleys covered with dense bushes. It is more closely associated with water than other representatives of the subfamily, and outside river systems and whether there are no swamps.
Aquatic and coastal plants even play a role in the diet of the Indian buffalo. big role than terrestrial herbs. Buffalo graze at night and at dawn, and all day, starting from 7-8 a.m., they lie immersed in liquid mud. Indian buffaloes usually live in small herds, which include an old bull, two or three young bulls and several cows with calves. The hierarchy of subordination in the herd, if observed, is not too strictly. The old bull often stays somewhat aloof from the other animals, but when fleeing from danger, he monitors the herd and brings back stray cows with the blows of his horns. When moving, a certain order is observed: old females go in the head, calves in the middle, and the rear guard is made up of young bulls and cows. In case of danger, the herd usually hides in the thickets, describes a semicircle and, stopping, waits for the pursuer on its own tracks. The Indian buffalo is a serious opponent. Old bulls are especially quarrelsome, aggressive and dangerous; the young bulls are driven out of the herd and are forced to lead the life of hermits. They often lead away herds of domestic buffaloes, and when pursued they even attack tame elephants. On the contrary, herds of buffalo willingly rest side by side with rhinoceroses. Tigers rarely attack buffaloes, and even then only young ones. In turn, the buffaloes, sensing the trail of a tiger, go into a frenzy and pursue the predator in close formation until they overtake or lose the trail. Cases of death of tigers have been reported several times.
Like most of the inhabitants tropical zone, the rutting and calving periods of Indian buffaloes are not associated with a specific season. Pregnancy lasts 300-340 days, after which the female gives birth to only one calf. A newborn buffalo is dressed in fluffy yellow-brown fur. Period milk feeding lasts 6-9 months.
Man domesticated the buffalo in time immemorial, presumably in the 3rd millennium BC. e. Along with the zebu, the domestic buffalo is one of the most important animals of the tropics. According to the most rough estimate, its population in South Asia now reaches 75 million. Domestic buffalo were introduced to Japan, Hawaii, Central and South America and Australia. There are a lot of domestic buffalos in Sudan and East African countries, including Zanzibar, and on the islands of Mauritius and Madagascar. Buffalo have been cultivated for a very long time Southern Europe and in Transcaucasia. The buffalo is used mainly as draft power, especially when cultivating rice fields. Dairy breeding of buffaloes is also promising. In Italy, when kept in stalls, the annual milk production per cow is 1970 liters. Buffalo milk contains 8% fat, significantly exceeding cow milk in protein content. In India, where cows are sacred animals, the buffalo does not fall under this category and constitutes main source meat products. The domestic buffalo is extremely unpretentious, resistant to many cattle diseases, and has a peaceful character.
