The Asian buffalo is a relative of wild bulls such as bison, yaks, zebu, etc. Beautiful and powerful, these animals have long been fighting with humans for the right to exist on Earth.
Asiatic buffalo
Description
Asian buffaloes are also called Indian buffaloes. They are cloven-hoofed mammals belonging to the bovid family. They are considered one of the largest among all the bulls on the planet, although they are represented by specimens of different sizes:
- Asian buffalo;
- tamarau;
- anoa and mountain anoa.
Individuals that are tamed by people are distinguished into a separate species: these are river and marsh buffaloes. Domestication took place as early as the 3rd millennium BC. The Indian buffalo is an excellent pulling power and transport, a source of meat and milk.
Appearance
The title of one of the largest bulls in the world is not in vain for the Asian buffalo. With a body length of 3 m, he has a height of 1.80 - 2 m and a mass from 800 to 1200 kg. On the head of the animal there are magnificent flattened horns in the shape of a crescent - the pride of the animal. The distance between the ends of its horns reaches 1.90 m - 2 m, they grow to the sides and are directed backward.
The horns of their females are not so large, straight, sometimes they are not at all.
The limbs of wild individuals are tall and strong, their tail is about 90 cm long, the body is covered with coarse, thin, black wool with a brown tint.
Although the domesticated version of this buffalo looks less intimidating, it is much smaller than its wild relative, and its horns are sawn for the safety of the owners.
Also small representatives of the species - tamarau and anoa. The former are up to 106 cm tall and weigh up to 300 kg, while the latter are 80 cm and 300 kg, respectively.
Temper and habits
Character
Appearance justifies character: the Indian buffalo is fierce. He fights well, boldly speaking against predators, in a fight he can calmly withstand even a tiger. Buffaloes are especially dangerous in the herd.
Very old buffaloes that have left the herd are distinguished by aggression. They tend to take domesticated females away, and in case of pursuit, they begin to attack, incl. and a person.
Livestock are more peaceful and agreeable.
Habits
For living, Indian buffaloes gather in a herd. It is usually few in number:
- adult bull;
- a couple of young buffaloes;
- cows with calves.
The smallest are placed in the middle, in front of those who are older, behind are young bulls. There is no strict obedience in the herd. His oldest member may even roam nearby: he brings back those who have fallen behind.
The behavior of these animals in case of danger is interesting: all together the buffaloes hide in the thickets or make a semicircle in order to then track down the animal that attacked the trail left by them.
Oddly enough, buffaloes are friends with rhinos, but they hate a tiger.
Buffalo Lifestyle and Issues
Where lives
The Asian buffalo lives in Nepal, Thailand, India, Laos, Cambodia, on about. Ceylon and Bhutan. But there were times when this animal lived in other parts of our Earth: North Africa, Central China, Mesopotamia.
Domestic buffaloes, of course, are more common around the world, their habitats are Australia, Japan, America (South and Central), East Africa, Transcaucasia, etc.
Another name of the "Asian" - water buffalo - fully characterizes his preferences in terms of location. There must be wide bodies of water nearby (rivers and swamps, incl.), Which horns need not only for drinking, but also for daily swimming. Also, for their existence, they need plains, densely overgrown with grass.
Schedule
So, water buffalo mostly lives near water (hence its second name) with a moderate current. For him it is a necessity, he is an excellent swimmer, he can dive or go under water, leaving only his head with gorgeous horns on the surface.
Thus, individuals can easily tolerate the high temperatures characteristic of their habitat areas.
They also love to fall out in the mud, which, covering the whole body, dries right on them. But they do this not because they are dirty, but because of the heat and insects. Flies, gadflies and other bloodsuckers have long been adapted to arrange them on their bodies, ears, nostrils, genitals, etc., for laying eggs.
Water turtles and birds also help them to get rid of pests: dragons, herons, etc.
Nutrition
These giants eat grass, incl. various underwater and coastal vegetation. In the dark they graze, and during the day, happy, they plunge into the water.
Breeding
The rut of Indian buffaloes is not associated with the season. After mating, the buffalo carries a cub for about 340 days; she does not give birth to more than one baby.
The calf is born fluffy, yellow with brown undertones. He is breastfed up to 9 months of life.
Sharp questions
Due to the fact that the wild Asian buffalo inhabits areas that are of interest to people, the latter simply survive it. The development of steppes and forests by mankind leads to the fact that water buffalo, tamarau, etc. simply disappear. Today, the livestock is protected, enshrined at the legislative level, hunting for them is prohibited, special habitats have been organized (Pabha, Kaziranga, etc.).
But not only the human factor influenced the decrease in the number of gobies. The fact is that wild individuals tend to mate with tamed ones. The offspring after such a union can no longer be called a true wild "Asian".
Buffaloes settled in the Omsk region
Buffalo fighting in Vietnam.
A wild buffalo breaks down the cage door. Wild Buffalo breaks out the door of cage.
Interesting about buffalo
Buffalo milk is ahead of cow milk in protein content. It is also quite fatty - about 8%. On Italian farms, about 1,900 liters of products per year are obtained from buffalo.
By the way, the original recipe for the famous mozzarella cheese involves the use of this particular milk.
Despite the fact that the water buffalo is the same bull, it is eaten in India. Religious bans on its meat do not apply, although it is directly called that: beef or veal, although buffalo meat is completely different in taste and many times tougher.
On the territory of Southeast Asia, they like to arrange fights in which the Indian buffalo takes part, however, its domesticated version. The animals are prepared for the competition, trained, well fed, but this is far from a bloody sight, since buffaloes rarely cause serious injuries to each other. The fight continues until one of the opponents falls or until both are exhausted.