Asian buffalo life
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 artiodactyl 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: they 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 Asian buffalo has earned the title of one of the largest bulls in the world for a reason. 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 hair with a brown tint.
Although the domesticated version of this buffalo looks less intimidating, it is much smaller than its wild cousin, and its horns are sawn for the safety of the owners.
Also small representatives of the species - tamarau and anoa. The former have a height of up to 106 cm and a weight of up to 300 kg, and the latter have 80 cm and 300 kg, respectively.
Temper and habits
Character
Appearance justifies character: the Indian buffalo is fierce. He fights well, boldly opposing 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 lead away domesticated females, 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 ones are placed in the middle, those who are older are in front, and young bulls are behind. 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 lifestyles and concerns
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 for 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 are needed for horned animals not only for drinking, but also for daily swimming. They also require densely grassy plains to survive.
Schedule
So, water buffalo mostly lives near water (hence its second name) with a moderate current. For him, this 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 easily tolerate the high temperatures characteristic of their habitat areas.
They also love to fall out in the mud, which, clinging to 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 get rid of pests: dragons, herons, etc.
Food
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.
Reproduction
The rut of Indian buffaloes is not related to the season. After mating, the buffalo bears a cub for about 340 days; she does not give birth to more than one baby.
The calf is born fluffy, yellow with a brown undertone. 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 under protection, 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".
Interesting about buffalo
Buffalo milk is ahead of cow milk in protein content. It is also quite fatty - about 8%. On Italian farms, about 1900 liters of products are obtained from buffalo per year.
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 prohibitions on its meat do not apply, although it is directly called that: beef or veal, although buffalo meat tastes completely different and is much tougher.
On the territory of Southeast Asia, they like to arrange fights in which the Indian buffalo takes part, however, its domesticated version. Animals are prepared for competitions, 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.