The water buffalo is a robust herbivorous mammal of the family Bovidae, with a massive body covered in short, gray-chestnut fur, and curved, crescent-shaped horns, used for defense and social dominance. There are two main types—the river buffalo, valued for its high milk yield, and the swamp buffalo, used primarily as draft animals in rice fields—both domesticated over 5,000 years ago in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
Habits
It lives in social herds of up to several dozen individuals and spends much of the day grazing on grass and aquatic vegetation near watercourses; it frequently wallows in puddles and mud for thermoregulation and protection against parasites, being especially active in the morning and evening.
Reproduction
Sexual maturity occurs at 2–3 years; females have estrous cycles every 21–23 days, and gestation lasts an average of 300–320 days, usually resulting in a single calf (rarely two), which is nursed for 6–12 months.
Distribution
Native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, the water buffalo was later introduced to Europe (Italy, the Balkans, Egypt), North and South America, Africa, and Australia, thriving in habitats with access to water and wetlands, such as floodplains, rice fields, and river deltas.
