Cover photo: Wild water buffalo, Kaziranga National Park © Nejib Ahmed
Wild water buffalo
Bubalus arnee
IUCN status: Endangered
Threats: interbreeding with domestic buffalo, habitat loss
Size: body mass: 700-1,200 kg; height at shoulder: 1.5-2 m; head and body length: 2.4-3 m
Wild water buffalo are one of the largest living land animals, with a body mass of up to 1,200 kg. Male buffalo are typically around 20% larger than females. They form maternal groups which graze and browse low-lying waterlogged floodplain grasslands, swamp edges and floodplain forests. Further research into their ecology and behaviour is being conducted by the Wildlife Trust of India.
The wild water buffalo is the ancestor of all domestic buffalo (B. bubalis) breeds. Domestication began at least 5,000 years ago, and there are now up to 180 million domesticated buffalo around the world. Now confined to a fraction of its former range, often in small, residual populations, key threats to the Endangered wild water buffalo include inbreeding with its widespread domestic form and the lack of viability of remnant populations.
More information
IUCN Red List account
Threats: interbreeding with domestic buffalo, habitat loss
Size: body mass: 700-1,200 kg; height at shoulder: 1.5-2 m; head and body length: 2.4-3 m
Wild water buffalo are one of the largest living land animals, with a body mass of up to 1,200 kg. Male buffalo are typically around 20% larger than females. They form maternal groups which graze and browse low-lying waterlogged floodplain grasslands, swamp edges and floodplain forests. Further research into their ecology and behaviour is being conducted by the Wildlife Trust of India.
The wild water buffalo is the ancestor of all domestic buffalo (B. bubalis) breeds. Domestication began at least 5,000 years ago, and there are now up to 180 million domesticated buffalo around the world. Now confined to a fraction of its former range, often in small, residual populations, key threats to the Endangered wild water buffalo include inbreeding with its widespread domestic form and the lack of viability of remnant populations.
More information
IUCN Red List account