The wild Asian buffalo, also called Asian buffalo, or wild water buffalo,
is a large bovine native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
In addition,
the wild water buffalo is the most probable ancestor of the domestic water buffalo.
Indeed, the wild water buffalo is also a fascinating animal
that we still do not know much more things about them,
let’s explore the interesting things about this creature.
Name
Bubalus arnee was proposed by Charles Hamilton Smith in 1827.
Appearance
Wild water buffalo are massive and barrel-chested, with rather short legs.
Males tend to be much larger than females.
Both sexes are ash-gray to black in color, although mature males tend to be very dark.
The ears tend to droop downwards.
Wild water buffalo are renowned for their incredible scimitar-shaped horns;
in Indian buffalo, the horns often curve in a semicircle,
while in buffalo from Thailand and Cambodia the horns spread much more to the side
with minimal inward curvature at the tips.
Horns of males are thicker, but often shorter, than those of females.
The wild water buffalo is readily distinguished from other wild animals
by their long scimitar-shaped horns.
Size
The head-to-body-length of the wild water buffalo is 240 to 300 cm
with a 60 to 100 cm long tail and a shoulder height of 150 to 190 cm.
Both sexes carry horns that are heavy
and widely spreading up to 2 m along the outer edges,
exceeding in size the horns of any other bovid.
It is larger and heavier than the domestic water buffalo,
and weighs from 600 to 1,200 kg.
The wild water buffalo rank alongside the gaur as the heaviest living wild bovid species,
as both attain a similar average.
Although wild water buffalo has their stockier, shorter-legged frame,
somewhat less in length and height than the gaur.
Habitat
Wild water buffalo is dependent on the availability of floodplain grasslands, swamps
and densely vegetated riverine forests.
Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve has seasonally flooded grasslands
and mixed forests of the Sapta-Koshi floodplain
which is ideal for the Wild Water Buffalo.
Wild water buffalo is widely dispersed and occurs in small herds in rainy season
but in dry season they gather at permanent water holes in large aggregations.
Wild water buffalo, living in tropical and subtropical forests,
spend most of their day in muddy waters of the area.
Distribution
Availability of water is a vital life condition for the wild water buffalo.
The area of their distribution includes south-eastern Nepal, southern Bhutan,
western Thailand, eastern Cambodia and south-western Vietnam.
Buffaloes in Vietnam usually come from the Mondulkiri region of neighboring Cambodia.
The Wild water buffalo are also widely distributed over northern,
eastern and central regions of Myanmar.
Diet
Wild Water Buffalo is a selective feeder
and they wander long distances in the course of grazing.
The wild water buffalo has a higher tolerance for saline water than many mammals.
Wild Water Buffalo prefers dense forests for grazing or browsing during the daytime
while they may feed in open forests with patchy grasslands during the night.
However, they also eat herbs, fruits, and bark, as well as browsing on trees and shrubs.
They also feed on crops, including rice, sugarcane, and jute,
sometimes causing considerable damage.
Ecological niche and predators
Tigers, the top predators of their range, prey on the wild water buffalo.
Buffaloes inherently hate tigers,
so whenever they smell the tiger's scent,
they stomp their feet and go crazy.
When the wild buffalo sniffs out where the tiger is lurking,
it will rush in. Two strong buffaloes can easily defeat a tiger.
Even so, tigers are still a serious threat to the survival of wild buffalo,
one tiger can defeat an adult buffalo.
In addition, scavengers of the habitat feed on corpses of dead buffalo.
Also, wild water buffalo herds affect the nesting places of magpie geese
and other birds in the area.
On the other hand, by grazing and soil compacting,
large herds of buffalo can damage flora of the habitat.
In addition, the mugger crocodiles prey on adult wild water buffaloes,
and Asian black bears have also been known to kill them.
Wild water buffalo always protect their young,
and females will form a protective line in front of the calves when threatened.
If the threat persists, the wild water buffalo flee into tall grass
or forest and not (despite being strong swimmers) into water.
When it comes to wild water buffalo, they face many threats in the wild
so they are more aggressive than domestic water buffalo are
and can run really fast too.
The wild water buffalo can reach a top speed of 48 kph when they're threatened.
Behavior
Adult females and their young form stable clans of as many as 30 individuals
that have home ranges of 170 to 1000 ha,
including areas for resting, grazing, wallowing and drinking.
Clans are led by old cows, even when bulls accompany the group.
Several clans form a herd of 30 to 500 animals that gather at resting areas.
In the wild in Assam, the herd size varied from three to 30 individuals.
Adult males form bachelor groups of up to 10 individuals,
with older males often solitary,
and spend the dry season apart from the female clans.
The wild water buffalo is mainly a grazer, feeding in the morning and evenings
and lying up in dense cover or submerging in wallows during midday.
During the midday heat, the wild Asian buffalo frequently wallows in water or muddy pools,
sometimes almost completely submerged, with only its nostrils showing.
In addition to keeping it cool, wallowing helps to remove skin parasites,
biting flies, and other pests.
Where there is substantial human disturbance,
the wild Asian buffalo is mainly nocturnal.
Reproduction
Dominant males mate with the females of a clan who subsequently drive them off.
Wild water buffalo are polygynous, meaning that one male mates with multiple females.
The dominant male mates with females of the clan,
after which the male is driven away by them.
Reports suggest that wild water buffalo have either a distinct breeding season,
an extended rut up to five months long,
or year-round reproduction;
this may, in part, be attributed to regional differences.
The breeding season usually takes place from October to November.
The wild water buffalo female’s gestation period lasts 10 to 11 months,
with an interbirth interval of one year.
The wild water buffalo typically give birth to a single offspring,
although twins are possible.
At birth, the calves are buff-brown in color.
They begin to darken around six months of age;
females reach their mature adult coloration at two or three years,
while males do not become fully dark until after four years of age.
A newborn calf weighs 35-40 kilograms on average.
Calves are nursed for 6-9 months,
and becoming independent during first 2 years after birth.
Females typically remain in the herd in which they were born,
while males disperse in their third year.
Age at sexual maturity is 18 months for males, and three years for females.
The maximum known lifespan is 25 years in the wild.
Threats
The biggest threats for the wild water buffalo are: interbreeding with feral
and domestic water buffaloes in and around protected areas;
hunting, especially in Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar;
habitat loss of floodplain areas due to conversion to agriculture
and hydropower development;
degradation of wetlands due to invasive species such as stem twiners and lianas;
diseases and parasites transmitted by domestic livestock;
and interspecific competition for food and water between wild water buffaloes and livestock.
Is the wild water buffalo becoming extinct?
The global population has been estimated at 3,400 individuals,
of which 3,100 (91%) live in India, mostly in Assam.
The wild water buffalo is extinct in Bangladesh, Peninsular Malaysia,
and the Sumatran Islands as well as Java and Borneo.
It has almost certainly become extinct in Vietnam and Laos.
Sri Lanka is also believed to be steeply declining in numbers
when it comes to herds of wild water buffaloes,
and no wild water buffaloes occur south of the Godavari river in India now.
Conservation Status
Wild Water Buffalo is categorized as Endangered in IUCN Red List by nations in the world.
Wild Water Buffalo is also included in CITES Appendix III.
According to National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act,
Wild Water Buffalo is legally protected mammal
and killing or harming of Wild Water Buffalo
is a punishable crime with the penalty of NPR 40,000-75,000
or an imprisonment from 1-10 years or both.
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