| Wild water buffalo | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) | |
| inKaziranga National Park | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: | Bovinae |
| Genus: | Bubalus |
| Species: | B. arnee |
| Binomial name | |
| Bubalus arnee (Kerr, 1792) | |
| Subspecies | |
| |
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| Wild water buffalo range | |
| Synonyms | |
Bubalus bubalis arnee | |
Thewild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee), also calledAsian buffalo,Asiatic buffalo andwild buffalo, is a largebovine native to theIndian subcontinent andSoutheast Asia. It was first described in 1792.
The wild water buffalo is the most likely ancestor of the domesticwater buffalo. It has been listed asendangered on theIUCN Red List since 1986, as the global population totals less than 4,000 mature individuals.
Bos arnee was thescientific name proposed byRobert Kerr in 1792 who described a skull with horns of a buffalozoological specimen fromBengal in northern India.[4]Bubalus arnee was proposed byCharles Hamilton Smith in 1827 who introduced the generic nameBubalus for bovids with large heads, convex-shaped narrow foreheads, laterally bent flat horns, funnel-shaped ears, smalldewlaps and slender tails.[5] Later authors subordinated the wild water buffalo under eitherBos,Bubalus orBuffelus.[6]
In 2003, theInternational Commission on Zoological Nomenclature placedBubalus arnee on theOfficial List ofSpecific Names in Zoology, recognizing the validity of this name for a wild species.[7] Most authors have adopted thebinomenBubalus arnee for the wild water buffalo as valid for thetaxon.[8]
The wild water buffalo is the most likely ancestor of the domesticwater buffalo.[9][10]
Only a fewDNA sequences are available from wild water buffalo populations.[11] Wild populations are considered to be theprogenitor of the modern domestic water buffalo, but thegenetic variation within the species is unclear, and also how it is related to the domesticated river andCarabao swamp buffaloes.[12]
The specific namearnee is derived fromHindiarnī, which referred to a female wild water buffalo; the term is related toSanskritáraṇya ("forest") andáraṇa ("strange, foreign.")[13][14]
The wild water buffalo has an ash-gray to black skin. The moderately long, coarse and sparse hair is directed forward from the haunches to the long and narrow head. There is a tuft on the forehead, and the ears are comparatively small. Its head-to-body-length is 240 to 300 cm (94 to 118 in) with a 60 to 100 cm (24 to 39 in) long tail and a shoulder height of 150 to 190 cm (59 to 75 in). Both sexes carry horns that are heavy at the base and widely spreading up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) along the outer edges, exceeding in size the horns of any other livingbovid. The tip of the tail is bushy; the hooves are large and splayed.[15]It is larger and heavier than the domestic water buffalo, and weighs from 600 to 1,200 kg (1,300 to 2,600 lb).[16][17] The average weight of three captive wild water buffaloes was 900 kg (2,000 lb).[18]It is among the heaviest living wild bovid species, and is slightly smaller thangaur.[19]
The wild water buffalo occurs in India,Nepal,Bhutan,Thailand, andCambodia, with an unconfirmed population inMyanmar. It has beenextirpated in Bangladesh,Laos,Vietnam andSri Lanka.[2][20] It inhabits wet grasslands, swamps, flood plains and densely vegetated river valleys.[2]
In India, it is largely restricted to in and aroundKaziranga,Manas andDibru-Saikhowa National Parks,Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary andBura Chapori Wildlife Sanctuary and in a few scattered pockets in Assam, and in and aroundD'Ering Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh. A small population survives inBalphakram National Park in Meghalaya, and inChhattisgarh inIndravati National Park andUdanti Wildlife Sanctuary.[20] This population might extend into adjacent parts ofOdisha and Gadchiroli District ofMaharashtra. In the early 1990s, there may still have been about 3,300–3,500 wild water buffaloes in Assam and the adjacent states of northeast India.[21] In 1997, the number was assessed at less than 1,500 mature individuals.[2]
Many surviving populations are thought to have interbred withferal or domestic water buffaloes. In the late 1980s, fewer than 100 wild water buffaloes were left inMadhya Pradesh.[22] By 1992, only 50 animals were estimated to have survived there.[21]
Nepal's only population lives inKoshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve and has grown from 63 individuals in 1976 to 219 individuals in 2009.[23] In 2016, 18 individuals were translocated from Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve toChitwan National Park.[24]
_at_Koshi_Tappu_Wildlife_Reserve%2c_Nepal.jpg)
In and around Bhutan'sRoyal Manas National Park, a small number of wild water buffaloes occur. This is part of the sub-population that occurs in India's Manas National Park.[20] In Myanmar, a few animals live inHukaung Valley Wildlife Sanctuary.[2]
In Thailand, wild water buffaloes have been reported to occur in small herds of less than 40 individuals. A population of 25–60 individuals inhabited lowland areas of theHuai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary between December 1999 and April 2001. This population has not grown significantly in 15 years, and is maybe interbreeding with domestic water buffaloes.[25]
The population in Cambodia is confined to a small area of easternmostMondulkiri and possiblyRatanakiri Provinces. Only a few dozen individuals remained as of 2005.[26]
The wild water buffaloes inSri Lanka are thought to be descendants of the introduced domesticwater buffalo. It is unlikely that any true wild water buffaloes remain there today.[2]Wild-living populations found elsewhere in Asia, Australia,Argentina andBolivia areferal domestic water buffaloes.[15]
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The wild water buffalo is bothdiurnal andnocturnal. Adult females and their young form stable clans of as many as 30 individuals, which havehome ranges of 170 to 1,000 ha (420 to 2,470 acres) that include areas for resting, grazing, wallowing and drinking. Clans are led by old cows, even when bulls accompany the group. Several clans form a herd of 30 to 500 animals that gather at resting areas. Adult males form bachelor groups of up to 10 individuals, with older males often being solitary, and spend the dry season apart from the female clans. They are seasonal breeders in most of their range, typically in October and November. However, some populations breed year round. Dominant males mate with the females of a clan who subsequently drive them off. Theirgestation period is 10 to 11 months, with an inter-birth interval of one year. They typically give birth to a single offspring, although twins are possible. Age at sexual maturity is 18 months for males, and three years for females. The maximum known lifespan is 25 years in the wild.[15] In Assam, herd sizes vary from three to 30 individuals.[20]
The wild water buffalo is probably agrazer by preference, feeding mainly ongraminoids when available, such asBermuda grass, andCyperus sedges, but it also eats otherherbs, fruits, and bark, andbrowses on trees and shrubs.[27] It also feeds on crops, including rice,sugarcane, andjute, sometimes causing considerable damage.[28] During thePleistocene, its diet was far more varied; it foraged in C3-dominant forests and woodlands and in C4-dominant grasslands, while today it is restricted to the latter type of environment.[29]
Tigers andmugger crocodiles prey on adult wild water buffaloes, andAsian black bears have also been known to kill them.[30]
A population reduction by at least 50% over the last three generations seems likely given the severity of the threats, especiallyhybridization; this population trend is projected to continue into the future. The most important threats are:[2]
Bubalus arnee is included inCITES Appendix III, and is legally protected in Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Thailand.[2][3]
In 2017, 15 wild water buffaloes werereintroduced intoChitwan National Park in Nepal to establish a second viable sub-population in the country.[31]
In 2023, 4 wild buffalos were translocated to Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve to reverse its declining population in the state.[32]
