Also called the Asian water buffalo or Indian buffalo, its scientific name comes from the Greek boubalos. While some authorities separate domestic/feral forms (B. bubalis) from truly wild forms (B. arnee), they are grouped together here under the senior name established by Linnaeus in 1758.
Location
- European Distribution: feral water buffalo populations are located in the Danube Delta of Romania.
- Habitat: they strictly inhabit flat terrain characterized by tall grass, reed beds, swamps, mud wallows, and various water courses.
Description
- Size: a massive, heavily built animal with stout legs and large, splayed hooves. Males and females stand 59–75 inches (150–190 cm) at the shoulder and weigh between 1,550–2,650 pounds (700–1,200 kg). Head and body length spans 8–10 feet (2.4–3.0 m).
- Anatomy: features a relatively light, long, and narrow skull with a nearly straight profile. The muzzle is large and hairless, while the ears are small. The tail reaches the hocks, ending in a small tuft.
- Coat & Color: the body is black or gray with dirty-white lower legs, often featuring a narrow “V” marking on the throat. The coat is coarse, sparse, and uniquely directed forward from the hindquarters toward the head.
- Horns: both sexes grow heavy horns that are triangular in cross-section, flat on top with prominent wrinkles, and grow outward from the sides of the head (without a boss).
- Female horns are rounder in cross-section and lighter, but can grow considerably longer than those of males.
- Historical records include an outside spread of 93.5 inches (237.5 cm) and a single horn length of 70.5 inches (179.1 cm).
Remarks
- Behavior: highly gregarious and mainly diurnal. Maternal herds are stable and led by an old cow, while males live in separate bachelor groups or remain solitary if very old.
- Reproduction: dominant males temporarily join female herds to mate during the breeding season but do not control harems and are eventually driven off. A single calf is born after a 10- to 11-month gestation period. Wild lifespan can reach 25 years.
- Diet & Water Needs: primarily grazers that eat grass early and late in the day, resting at midday. They have a strict requirement for water and mud wallows, frequently submerging entirely with only their nostrils exposed to deter biting insects.
- Temperament: they possess a keen sense of smell and fair eyesight and hearing. They can be highly dangerous; males have been documented attacking humans without provocation, and females are fiercely protective of their young.
- Taxonomic History: historically, a distinct long-horned wild variant (macroceros) from Assam was given subspecies rank, but it has long been extinct in the wild and is no longer considered a scientifically valid subspecies.
