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epaiva · 11-23-2017, 03:40 AM

The wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee), also called Asian buffalo, Asiatic buffalo and Wild Asian Buffalo, is a large bovine native to the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
Wild water buffalo are larger and heavier than domestic buffalo, and weigh from 700 to 1,200 kg. Their head-to-body-length is 240 to 300 cm with a tail 60 to 100 cm long, and a shoulder height of 150 to 190 cm. Both sexes carry horns that are heavy at the base and widely spreading up to 2 m along the outer edges, exceeding in size the horns of any other living bovid. Their skin color is ash gray to black. The moderately long, coarse and sparse hair is directed forward from the haunches to the long and narrow head.
Wild water buffalo occur in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Cambodia, with an unconfirmed population in Myanmar. They have been extirpated in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Laos, and Vietnam. They are associated with wet grasslands, swamps and densely vegetated river valleys.
In India, they are largely restricted to in and around Kaziranga, Manas and Dibru-Saikhowa National Parks, Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary and Bura Chapori Wildlife Sanctuary and in a few scattered pockets in Assam.
Credits to @seemaguliani @rofeeq_kaziranga @addukkahahmed87 and @ug_cal
Figure taken from the book Bovids of the Wold (Jose R. Castello)

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epaiva · 11-23-2017, 04:10 AM

Asian Wild Water Buffalo (Bubalus Arnee) are very impresive powerful animals

Credits to @wcsindia @bobpx @rukmani_raj and @iyengarvivek

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parvez · 12-10-2017, 08:33 PM

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parvez · 12-12-2017, 02:05 PM

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parvez · 12-12-2017, 02:06 PM

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parvez · 12-12-2017, 02:07 PM

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parvez · 01-07-2018, 08:23 PM

Symbiotic relation,
. Mutualism between buffalo and white stork (Ciconia ciconia): Another example of mutualism has been observed in between buffalo and white stork. In this association also white storks are the birds which live on the back of buffalo and use to eat insects (Figure 12). Whereas the buffaloes get benefit by white storks which help to remove the ticks and insects from the back of buffaloes. So the suitable example of mutualism or symbiosis is observed in between these two animals.
http://www.alliedacademies.org/articles/...-nepal.pdf

parvez · 01-10-2018, 05:01 PM

Behaviour,

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parvez · 01-13-2018, 11:32 AM

A herd,

parvez · 01-13-2018, 07:05 PM

This is my ideal water buffalo, appears to be wild pure bred one. My favourite of all pictures here,

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Jimmy · 01-22-2018, 08:14 AM

i tried to collect some photos of the lesser known Bubalus arnee arnee -numbering only around 500 from Nepal and Udanti reserve in central India. This species is ver often isolated in a single reserve dedicated soley to their survival and are in such low numbers that they are highly inbred, cross breeding with domestic buffaloes, getting disease like rinderpest, foot and mouth and Tuberculosis. Their survival in the wild is gravely at stake and I feel sad that they are not getting enough attention.
From Udanti reserve in Central India

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From Koshi tappu reserve in Nepal

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Comparison of buffaloe's skull with gaur's skull in the middle -koshi reserve

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Some translocated individuals in chitwan national park. Sadly, of the fifteen individuals- three zoo animals died from in-adaptability in the wild, two died from flooding, one died from accidental tiger attack... .. its nearly one year since the tranlocation, no offsprings yet but hopefully the remaining nine can make it and breed in Chitwan. After the flood, grassland was smothered and now authorities are feeding them supplements in a bucket to revive their health.

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parvez · 01-22-2018, 10:38 AM

Great pictures Jimmy. But many of them seem to be crossbred with domestic buffaloes. A pure buffalo imo has that aggressive appearance, appears full black and highly muscular. But great pictures nonetheless.

Jimmy · 01-22-2018, 01:06 PM

(01-22-2018, 10:38 AM)parvez Wrote: Great pictures Jimmy. But many of them seem to be crossbred with domestic buffaloes. A pure buffalo imo has that aggressive appearance, appears full black and highly muscular. But great pictures nonetheless.

Thanks man, I think they are mostly inbred than crossbred... And under nourished for sure, I think that's the reason they are not as muscular. Some research papers in Nepal had suggested that it is extremely difficult for a domestic bull to challenge wild bull and mate with wild females. Even wild females themselves are a challenge. On the contrary wild bulls mating with domestic female is possible but the offspring remains with the mother/herder so it's not as simple as one might think. Though it has happened and proven... ..however, wild types still outnumber the domestic ones in Nepal atleast. Regarding appearance, wild water buffaloes doesn't have a round bulging belly like domestic ones. Kind of like differnce between wild boar and pigs.

parvez · 01-22-2018, 02:12 PM

That's good to hear @Jimmy . There are considerable number of wild buffaloes in Nepal and hopefully not inbred. And even in kaziranga there is lot of scope for wild buffalo because they are huge and can't necessarily mate with smaller females as I heard of a recent death of a female rhino due to huge size of male rhino in captivity. But the problem of inbreeding needs to be solved in the future for the good of this animal. Btw which do you think is stronger pound for pound water buffalo or gaur?

Roflcopters · 01-22-2018, 05:30 PM

Interesting question @parvez, let me ask you the same question now. why are Gaurs critically endangered in Kaziranga, its not like they didnt have a perfect habitat. what contributed to their decline? competition with Asiatic water buffalos? till date i have only seen about a few gaur pictures from Kaziranga and to spot a Gaur in Kaziranga is considered extremely rare. in 1984 census, the gaur numbers stood at around 30, Asiatic water buffalos were roughly 677, in 2001 that number jumped to about 1666 for the Asiatic water buffalo. Gaur numbers now are less than 30 individual, some even say 10 individuals at best.

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Gaur in Kaziranga. August/2016.

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Gaur in Kaziranga. Dec/2017

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