It is known as "water buffalo" because it is adapted to and enjoys being in water.
True wild water buffalo are thought to survive in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Thailand.[citation needed]
The IUCN Red List of threatened species classifies wild water buffalo (Bubalis arnee)[4] as an endangered species in Southeast Asia. They run rampant as wild animals in the Northern Territory, Australia, which is the only part of the world where they are legally hunted because of their large numbers there. The total number of wild water buffalo left in Southeast Asia is thought to be less than 4,000, which suggests the number of mature individuals will be less than 2,500, and an estimated continuing decline of at least 20% within 14 years (about two generations) and at least 50% within 21 years seems likely, given the severity of the threats, especially hybridization with the abundant domestic Asian water buffalo, leading to genetic pollution.[5]
Anatomy and morphology
Horn differences between Cape buffalo (above) and Asian water buffalo (below)
An albino water buffalo in Chiang Mai province, Thailand
Adult water buffalo range in size from 400 to 900 kg (880 to 2,000 lb) for the domestic breeds, while the wild animals are nearly 3 m (9.8 ft) long and 2 m (6.6 ft) tall, weighing up to 1,200 kg (2,600 lb); females are about two-thirds this size.[6]
River buffalo are usually black, have curled horns, and are native to the western half of Asia, whereas swamp buffalo can be black, white or both, with long, gently curved, swept-back horns; they are native to the eastern half of Asia from India to Taiwan.[1] The largest recorded horns are just under two metres long.[6]
The rumen (the first chamber of the digestive system of a ruminant) of the water buffalo has important differences from that of other ruminants.[7]
The water buffalo rumen has been found to contain a larger population of bacteria, particularly the cellulolytic bacteria, lower protozoa and higher fungi zoospores. In addition, higher rumen ammonia nitrogen (NH4-N) and higher pH have been found as compared to those in cattle.
Taxonomy
The classification of the water buffalo is uncertain. Some authorities list a single species, Bubalus bubalis, with three subspecies, the river buffalo (B. bubalis bubalis) of the Indian Subcontinent, the carabao or swamp buffalo (B. bubalis carabanesis) of the Philippines and Southeast Asia, and the arni, or wild water buffalo (B. bubalis arnee). Others regard these as closely related, but separate, species.[9] In 2003, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature ruled in favor of keeping wild water buffaloes a separate taxon from river buffaloes. They are now usually referred to as Bubalus arnee, though the former usage is still acceptable for authors who consider them conspecific.
The swamp buffalo has 48 chromosomes; the river buffalo has 50 chromosomes. The two types do not readily interbreed, but fertile offspring can occur. Buffalo-cattle hybrids have not been observed to occur, and the embryos of such hybrids do not reach maturity in laboratory experiments.[10]
Distribution
Water buffalo ploughing rice fields in Java, Indonesia
Type Locality: "Habitat in Asia, cultus in Italia". Restricted by Thomas (1911a:154) to Italy, Rome, but Linnaeus' (1758) comment indicates Asia (India?).
Distribution: Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, India (survives in Assam and Orissa), Nepal, northern Thailand, Vietnam, and possibly at least formerly in Laos; domesticated in North Africa, southern Europe, and even England, east to Indonesia and in eastern South America; supposedly feral populations in Sri Lanka, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Philippines and other parts of SE Asia; feral populations resulting from introductions in New Britain and New Ireland (Bismarck Arch., Papua New Guinea), and Australia.
The average lifespan in captivity is up to 25 years.
