WILD WATER BUFFALOES: CHARACTERISTICS, BEHAVIOR AND WHERE THEY LIVE

WATER BUFFALOES

Water buffalo ( Bubalus bubalis) are used for plowing and other forms of labor and as a source of meat, leather and milk. They are found throughout Asia and in places like Turkey, Italy, Australia and Egypt as well. They are mostly found in places where there is a lot of rain or water because they get dehydrated very easily and need water and mud to wallow around in. The water buffalo population in the world is about 172 million, with 96 percent of them in Asia.

Due to domestication, some authorities use Bubalus arnee or Bubalus arni to refer to true wild water buffalo, and Bubalus bubalis to refer to domesticated buffalo. Some authorities divide domesticated buffalo into two subspecies: swamp buffalo (Bubalus bubalis carabanesis) and river buffalo (Bubalus bubalis bubalis).

Water buffalo are called “carabao” in the Philippines and are regarded as the national animal there. In India their milk is a major source of protein. In Southeast Asia they plow rice fields. One Thai farmer said, "they're the backbone of the nation and have been very important to our way of life.”Described as the “living tractor of the East,” they have been introduced to Europe, Africa, the Americas, Australia, Japan, and Hawaii. There are 74 breeds of domestic water buffalo.

The water buffalo or domestic Asian water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) is a large bovid found on the Indian subcontinent to Vietnam and Peninsular Malaysia, in Sri Lanka, in Luzon Island in the Philippines, and in Borneo. The wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee) native to Southeast Asia is considered a different species but most likely represents the ancestor of the domestic water buffalo. [Source: Wikipedia +]

There are two types of water buffalo—each considered a subspecies—are based on morphological and behavioural criteria: 1) the river buffalo of the Indian subcontinent and further west to the Balkans and Italy; and 2) the swamp buffalo, found from Assam in the west through Southeast Asia to the Yangtze valley of China in the east. The origins of the domestic water buffalo types are debated, although results of a phylogenetic study indicate that the swamp type may have originated in China and domesticated about 4,000 years ago, while the river type may have originated from India and was domesticated about 5,000 years ago.

Wild Water Buffalo

Wild water buffalo Bubalus arnee or Bubalus arni are endangered and live only in a small number of protected areas stretching across India, Nepal, and Bhutan, and a wildlife reserve in Thailand. And populations are likely to diminish as they are interbred with domesticated water buffalo. Thailand's wild Asian buffalo is the largest water buffalo in the world. Wild buffalo have been observed changing tigers and Asian elephants that have backed off.In Africa similar behavior has been observed with Cape buffalo and lions and African elephants. [Source: National Geographic]

During the Pleistocene epoch the genus Bubalus was widely distributed throughout Europe and southern Asia and contained forms conspecific with Wild water buffalo. When the climate became drier the genus was restricted to the Indian subcontinent, mainland South-East Asia, and some of the South-East Asian islands. In historical times Wild water buffalo ranged across South and South-East Asia, occurring from Mesopotamia to Indochina [Source: iucnredlist.org]

wild water buffalo

Wild water buffalo live in temperate and tropical land environments in savanna grasslands, forests, wetlands such as marshes and swamps. They spend much of their time wallowing in rivers or mud holes. Domesticated ones are found in urban, suburban agricultural and riparian environments (wetlands adjacent to rivers). They prefer to be near lakes, ponds, rivers and streams and temporary pools. Their habitats are often a mixture of tall grasses, rivers and streams, and a scattering of trees and forests. In general, water buffalo are found in lower elevations, but in Nepal, swamp buffalo be found at elevations of 2,800 meters (9,186 feet). [Source: Jason Roth, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Asian water buffalo have been heavily domesticated and thus are now widespread. The suspected native domain of domesticated water buffalo was from Central India to southern Nepal in the west to Vietnam and Malaysia in the east. It is believed that true wild populations still survive in parts of India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Thailand. Domesticated and feral populations are very widespread. River buffalo (a domesticated variety) are found more in the west and reside in Indochina, the Mediterranean, and parts of South and Central America. Swamp buffalo (another variety under domestication) are more easterly in distribution and inhabit Indochina and Southeast Asia as well as Australia./=\

The wild Asian buffalo originally ranged from eastern Nepal and India, east to Vietnam, and south to Malaysia. By 1963, it had been substantially reduced numerically and eliminated from the greater part of its former range. At that time it was thought to be restricted to three zones: the Brahmaputra Valley in Assam, India, the lower reaches of the Godavari River at the confluence of the borders of the states of Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh in India, and the Saptkosi River, Nepal, close to the border with India. As of 1990, remnant populations were thought to occur in Assam and Orissa in India, in Nepal, and in two sanctuaries in Thailand. [Source: Animalinfo.org]

Wild Water Buffalo Characteristics and Diet

Wild water buffalo are massive, powerful animals, with the widest horn span of any bovid — more than two meters (6.2 feet). They range in weight from 250 to 1200 kilograms (550 to 2643 pounds) and have a head and body length that ranges from 2.4 to three meters (7.9 to 9.8 feet). They stand 1.5 to 1.9 meters (4.9 to 6.2 feet) at the shoulder and have a tail length of 60 to 100 centimeters (23.6 to 39.4 inches. [Source:Jason Roth, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Wild water buffalo have large feet with splayed hooves. Jason Roth wrote in Animal Diversity Web: Their face is long and narrow, with rather small ears and large horns. Unlike African buffalo, in which the bases of the horns almost meet at the forehead, the bases of the horns in Asian water buffalo are far apart. A closely related species found in the Philippines is Bubalus mindorensis, or tamaraw. It is smaller than Domesticated water buffalo, weighing 300 kilograms and standing 100 centimeters at the shoulder. Tamaraws have more hair than Asian water buffalo, are dark brown to black, and have shorter horns. /=\

Water buffalo have sparse hair that is long and ashy gray to black. Their relatively long tail is bushy at the tip. Their legs are often dirty white up to the knees. Adult buffalo are almost hairless and their skin color varies with weather conditions, though it is difficult to ascertain the skin color, as these animals are usually covered with mud. When not mud covered and dry, the skin is dark grey; however, when moist (and not mud covered), the skin is dark brown to black. Swamp buffalo (a variety of Domesticated water buffalo under domestication) are more ashy gray in color, has a drooping neck, and horns that are swept back and out, whereas river buffalo (the other domesticated variety) are more black and have tightly curled horns. /=\

Sexual Dimorphism (differences between males and females) is present: Males are larger than females. Ornamentation is different. Male weigh up to 1,200 kilograms ,and females weigh up to 800 kilograms. Both sexes bear horns, although those of the female are smaller than those of the male. Horns of both sexes are heavy set at the base, ribbed, and are triangular in cross-section.

Water buffalo are are primarily herbivores (eat plants or plants parts).They are ruminants and are predominately grazers of grasses. They also eats herbs, aquatic plants, leaves, bark, stems, macroalgae, agricultural crops, and various other vegetation that grows in or along rivers and streams.

Wild Water Buffalo Behavior

wild water buffalo

Wild water buffalo are terricolous (live on the ground), diurnal (active during the daytime), nocturnal (active at night), motile (move around as opposed to being stationary), sedentary (remain in the same area), social (associates with others of its species; forms social groups), and have dominance hierarchies (ranking systems or pecking orders among members of a long-term social group, where dominance status affects access to resources or mates). Water buffalo often graze in the morning and evening. During hotter parts of the day, they rest in patches of dense cover, wallow in mud holes, sometimes almost completely submerging themselves, with only their nostrils showing. When deprived of wallowing grounds, water buffalo often seek shade to alleviate the stress of heat. [Source: Jason Roth, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Domesticated water buffalo are social. Wild water buffalo commonly form cohesive herds varying from 10 to 20 individuals, although herds of up to 100 individuals have been observed. A herd of female wild Asian buffaloes with young is led by a dominant matriarch and often accompanied by a single adult bull. Other males live solitarily or form bachelor herds of about 10. Female feral water buffalo in Australia form clans, consisting of mothers and daughters, that are made up of roughly 30 individuals. These clans occupy a home range that provides areas for feeding, drinking, wallowing, and resting. A dominance hierarchy exists within these groups with the leader being an old cow. The home range of these clans varies from 170 to 1,000 hectares. These clans can form a herd of 30 to 500 individuals which meet nightly at a communal resting area.

At the age of three, males leave female herds, often forming bachelor herds. Bachelor herds may have up to 10 members. These herds typically have a slightly larger ranges than do female groups. Male ranges overlap those of female groups. Older males are often solitary, but have been observed in female herds year round. Young males spar with each other to assert dominance but avoid serious fighting. They mix with females at mating time.

Water buffalo are more sensitive to heat than most bovids because they have fewer sweat glands. They very dependent on the availability of water and are known for wallowing in mud. Wallowing in mud helps to kep them cool as mud evaporates more slowly than just water alone, thus extending the period of cooling. Wallowing also serves to cake the animal with mud, which protects it from biting insects.

Water buffalo sense and communicate with vision, touch, sound and chemicals usually detected by smelling. In general, bovids communicate through posture and movement. Herds often grunt and snort to each other as they travel, while bellowing is rare. Bulls often snort and stamp the ground before charging. Charging may occur as a means of defense, or as an aggressive display of dominance, as seen in mate competition. Domesticated water buffalo has a well developed sense of smell, and checmical cues seem to be important, at least in mating. These animals also have acute hearing. Water buffalo are not highly dependent on sight. Although physical aggression is rare, some tactile communication occurs between mates, as well as between mothers and their young.

Wild Water Buffalo Mating, Reproduction and Offsrping

Wild water buffalo are polygynous (males have more than one female as a mate at one time) and engage in seasonal breeding and year-round breeding. Females are able to produce one calf every two years. Most breeding in seasonal populatons occurs in October and November. The estrus cycle is 21 days. The number of offspring ranges from one to two, but most of the time is one, with the average number of offspring being 1.37. [Source: Jason Roth, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

According to Animal Diversity Web: Maternal groups exist in a large, loosely structured herds year round. During the wet season, adult males (from bachelor groups or solitary) enter the female groups, and mate with, but do not control, the receptive females who are in estrus for 11 to 72 hours. After mating, males are driven off. Male bovids in general display dominance by posture and movement, and few conflicts escalate to levels of serious injury. Bulls determine estrus by sniffing a cow’s urine and genitals. /=\

Timing of reproduction in this species is somewhat variable. In some areas, breeding is seasonally dependent, whereas in other areas it is seasonally independent. Where seasonally dependent, breeding often occurs after the rainy season and calves are born the following year near the beginning of the rainy season. Where seasonally independent, calves may be born year round. /=\

Of female bovids, water buffalo have the longest gestation period: 300 to 340 days. The age in which they are weaned ranges from six to nine months. On average females reach sexual or reproductive maturity at 1.5 years, while males do so at three years. Young are relatively well-developed when born. Calves are born weighing 35 to 40 kilograms,and are red to yellow brown.

Parental care is provided by females. After mating males have no further involvement in parental care. During the pre-birth, stage provisioning and protecting are done by females. During the pre-weaning stage provisioning and protecting are done by females. Pre-independence protection is provided by females. The post-independence period is characterized by the association of offspring with their parents. Young inherit the territory of their parents, mother or father. /=\

Before independence, females protect their calves and can be aggressive. Females inherit the loose territory of the larger female herd which is composed of multiple maternal groups. /=\ After females reach sexual maturity they remain in a maternal group within a larger herd. Males leave the female group and often join bachelor groups when they reach sexual maturity.

wild water buffalo

Endangered Wild Water Buffaloes, Threats and Humans

On the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List wild water buffalo are listed as Endangered. They are legally protected in Bhutan, Nepal, India, and Thailand on nature reserves, and are listed in CITES under Appendix III (Nepal). The major threats to these animals include continued habitat destruction and fragmentation as agricultural land use expands; hunting; interbreeding with domestic and feral buffalo; competition with domestic livestock; and diseases and parasites carried by domestic livestock. Conservation programs are focusing on preserving their habitat and keeping them separated from human, domestic water buffalo and livestock populations. [Source: Jason Roth, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

The wild Asian buffalo originally ranged from eastern Nepal and India, east to Vietnam, and south to Malaysia. By 1963, it had been substantially reduced numerically and eliminated from the greater part of its former range. Currently, the total world population of wild Asian buffalo is almost certainly less than 4,000 animals and may well be less than 200 animals. It is even possible that no purebred wild Asian buffalo remain. Population estimates are hampered by the difficulty in distinguishing wild buffalo from domestic, feral and hybrid buffalo. In India, wild buffalo are now largely restricted to Assam and Madhya Pradesh, although most, if not all, are believed to have interbred with domestic and/or feral buffalo. An unknown number of buffalo, believed to include truly wild individuals, occurs in Bhutan’s Royal Manas National Park. Kosi Tappu Wildlife Reserve contains the only sub-population in Nepal. In Thailand, 40 – 50 wild buffalo are reported to occur in the Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary; this is the only sub-population remaining in Thailand. [Source: Animalinfo.org ++]

In general, the horns of bovids are effective anti-predator deterrents. Tigers are the only predator of water buffalos other than humans, though water buffalo are challenging prey even to so large a cat. According to Animal Diversity Web: When confronted by a tiger, water buffalo often stand together as a herd and charge together in a line. They are usually successful at driving tigers off, and water buffalo have been known to kill tigers with their horns. Tigers often have their success stalking single animals and focusing on juveniles. [Source: Jason Roth, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=] /=\

In regard to being problems for humans, wild water buffalo may break into fields and consume produce. They are known to damage rice paddys and other growing crops. Wild bulls have been known to invade domesticated herds, killing the less capable domesticated bull, and breeding with receptive females. Therefore, loss is incurred through the death of the tame bull. Furthermore, the resulting offspring are less docile and possibly too large to fit a farmer's equipment. Occasionally, wild bulls not only invade tame herds, but also take over and drive off owners, keeping the herd for themselves. Lastly, wild or feral water buffalo are dangerous animals. Females with young can be very defensive and are known to charge and to injure humans. Bulls that are wounded are extremely dangerous and have been known to kill humans that are stalking them. /=\

Countries where the wild Asian buffalo were found in 2004: Bhutan, India, Nepal and Thailand. (IUCN 2004), Population Estimates (figures given are for wild populations only): 1) World:1966: Less than 2000 (IUCN 1967). 1980s: 1000 - 1500 (WCMC 2003). 1990: Less than 2000 (Humphrey & Bain 1990). 1998: Very unlikely to be more than 4000, is probably fewer than 1000, and is quite possibly fewer than 200 (Hedges 1998). 2004: Less than 4000; may be less than 200; indeed it is possible that no purebred wild Asian buffalo remain (IUCN 2004). 2) India: 1966: Under 2000 (Peninsular India: 400 - 500; Assam: 1425) (IUCN 1967); 1989: 1000 (Madhya Pradesh and Assam) (Oryx 1989c); 1994: The bulk if India's population totals perhaps 3300 - 3500 (90 percent in Assam) (Choudhury 1994). 3) Nepal: 1966: 100 (IUCN 1967); 1976: 40 (Oryx 1976b). Status and Trends: IUCN Status: 1960s - 1970s: Vulnerable; 1980s - 1994: Endangered; 1996 - 2004: Endangered (Criteria: A2e, C1) (Population Trend: Decreasing) (IUCN 2004) ++

Status of Wild Water Buffalo in Different Places

Remnant populations of Wild Water Buffalo are thought to occur at single sites in each of southern Nepal, southern Bhutan, western Thailand, eastern Cambodia, and northern Myanmar, and at several sites in India: in the Bastar region of Madhya Pradesh, in Assam, in Arunachal Pradesh, and possibly in Meghalaya, Orissa and Maharashtra. Wild Water Buffalo is believed to be extinct in Bangladesh, Peninsular Malaysia, and on the islands of Sumatra, Java, and Borneo. The domestic form (considered by IUCN as B. bubalis) occurs as feral and domesticated populations worldwide. [Source: iucnredlist.org]

The situation in Indochina is less certain. Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Viet Nam were not included within the range of Wild Water Buffalo given in Corbet and Hill (1992). Free-living buffalo of unknown pedigree occur throughout the region but Wild Water Buffalo is probably extinct in Viet Nam and almost certainly in Lao PDR .

Places where wild water buffalo are found

The origin and current genetic status of the herds of apparently wild buffaloes in Sri Lanka is uncertain but it is thought unlikely that any true wild buffaloes remain there today. Corbet and Hill (1992) included Sri Lanka within the historical range of wild buffalo, although Ellerman and Morrison-Scott (1951), Gee (1964), and Maia (1970) thought that the Sri Lankan buffaloes were descended from introduced domestic stock. Certain ancient texts seem to support this view. The fact that no buffaloes occur south of the Godavari river in India has also been taken to suggest that Sri Lanka possesses only feral buffaloes descended from introduced animals. However, Deraniyagala (1953), considered that the occurrence of fossil buffalo teeth in the gem sands of the Ratnapura area disproved this view, although it is not clear how old these buffalo teeth are (and Gaur remains found at similar depths in the same area were less than 1,000 years old). Moreover, morphometrics suggest that there was an ancestral population of animals on that island closer to Wild Water Buffalo than to Domestic Water Buffalo. Nevertheless, even if the Water Buffalo is indigenous to Sri Lanka the question of whether the free-living herds found there today should be treated as wild B. arnee still arises. In the nineteenth-century, free-ranging herds were common over much of the island’s dry low country but they were nearly eliminated by an outbreak of rinderpest at the end of the century, and for a time their survival was in doubt. Phillips reported that small populations might have survived in the hill country but the subsequent intensification of agriculture probably led to their demise . After the rinderpest outbreak buffalo recolonized much of the dry zone but most of them had apparently interbred with domestic stock and in 1953 Deraniyagala wrote ‘[the] relatively purest herds are restricted to Yala Game Sanctuary, but much vigilance will be necessary if this remnant is to be kept free from domestic animals which are now encroaching upon this once inaccessible area’. Woodford (1979) also suggested that the genetic integrity of the wild form has already been lost in Ruhuna. To conclude, even if it is assumed that Wild Water Buffalo once occurred on Sri Lanka it seems unlikely that they survived the rinderpest outbreak and the subsequent genetic swamping by feral and domestic buffalo: consequently all free-living buffalo populations on Sri Lanka almost certainly contain genetic input from domestic or feral stock.

Neither Java nor Sumatra are included within the original range of wild Bubalus arnee as presented in many accounts. Nevertheless Stremme (1911) thought that the occurrence of the fossil B. palaeokerabau in Java made it probable that the buffaloes there belonged to the original fauna of the island (as Cuvier believed). Merkens (1927) also doubted, on historical grounds, the domestic origin of all free-living buffaloes on the island as did Mason (1974) who stated that domestic buffalo were present on Sumatra and Java long before the Hindus arrived almost 2,000 years ago. Moreover Van der Maarel (1932) provisionally regarded the fossil specimens which he obtained from Java (and indeed B. palaeokerabau) as specifically indistinct from modern buffaloes, pointing to a Pleistocene presence of the species on the island (cf. Medway 1972). Corbet and Hill (1992) also thought it probable that wild buffaloes occur on Java and Sumatra. Despite the doubts raised by Van der Maarel and Dammerman there is in fact little doubt that all the apparently wild buffaloes now living on Java and Sumatra are descended from domestic animals, or from Wild Water Buffaloes that have interbred with domestic and/or feral buffaloes.

Opinion is divided over whether to include Borneo within the historic range of the species. Corbet and Hill (1992) did not list it, and neither Mason (1974) nor Payne et al. (1985) considered it likely that Water Buffalo was part of the indigenous fauna. Lydekker (1898), by contrast, described the small buffalo of Sarawak as a separate subspecies (B. b. hosei), although Mason (1974) thought that Lydekker was probably describing the feral animals which were common there. Cockrill (1968) suggested that traders from the Hindu empire in Sumatra may have introduced the buffalo in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and he did not think that there was any convincing evidence that would suggest that it was an indigenous species. Nevertheless, animal remains from the Niah caves indicate a Stone Age presence of buffalo in Sarawak (Harrisson 1961). Van Strien (1986) also considered it probable that Bubalus bubalis was part of the original fauna of the island and gave north-west Borneo as its current distribution. Harrisson, however, thought that the wild form was extinct. Feral (and semi-feral) buffaloes were formerly numerous throughout Borneo but the current status of the island’s feral population is poorly known. What does seem certain, however, is that even if the species is indigenous to the island (as seems to be the case) no true wild B. arnee occur there today since they would have been genetically swamped by the numerous feral animals some of which were descended from buffaloes introduced from outside Borneo (S. Hedges pers. comm. 2008).

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Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org ; National Geographic, Live Science, Natural History magazine, David Attenborough books, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Discover magazine, The New Yorker, Time, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Wikipedia, The Guardian, Top Secret Animal Attack Files website and various books and other publications.

Last updated January 2025