Water buffalo

The Wild Asiatic Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) is an endangered species. True wild populations still live in Bhutan, India, Nepal and Thailand, while their domesticated counterparts are very widespread. They are large animals, standing 1.5 to 1.9 meters in height at the shoulder. Wild male water buffaloes can become 3 meters in length and weigh up to 1200 kilos, while their domesticated counterparts can weigh 250 to 550 kilograms. They can become 25 years of age in the wild.

The Wild Asiatic Water Buffalo is a social animal, with groups of 10 to 20 individuals, but also groups of 100 individuals have been observed.

Their diet mainly consists of grasses, herbs, aquatic plants, leaves and agricultural crops, The only predator in the wild is the tiger, but their main threats are habitat destruction and genetic pollution (breeding with their domesticated counterparts).

Interesting fact: Wild bulls are known to invade a domesticated herd, kill the domesticated bull (which is a lot smaller), and breed with the receptive females. The resulting offspring are less docile and too large to fit a farmer's equipment. Occasionally, the wild bull not only kills the domesticated bull, but also take over and drive off the owners, keeping the herd for himself.

Picture by yathin, licensed under Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 license.