Water buffalo

This article is about the domesticated water buffalo. For its endangered wild ancestor, see Wild water buffalo. For the wild African species, see African buffalo. For other uses, see Water buffalo (disambiguation).
Water buffalo
Female water buffalo and calf
Domesticated
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Bovinae
Tribe: Bovini
Genus: Bubalus
Species: B. bubalis
Binomial name
Bubalus bubalis
(Linnaeus, 1758)
  • river buffalo
  • swamp buffalo
Global distribution of buffalo in 2004

The water buffalo or domestic Asian water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) is a large bovid originating in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and China. Today, it is also found in Europe, Australia, and some American countries.[1] The wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee) native to Southeast Asia is considered a different species, but most likely represents the ancestor of the domestic water buffalo.[2]

Two extant types of water buffalo are recognized based on morphological and behavioural criteria – the river buffalo of South Asia and further west to the Balkans, Egypt, and Italy, and the swamp buffalo, found from Assam in the west through Southeast Asia to the Yangtze valley of China in the east.[1][3] The origins of the domestic water buffalo types are debated, although results of a phylogenetic study indicate that the swamp type may have originated in China and was domesticated about 4,000 years ago, while the river type may have originated from India and was domesticated about 5,000 years ago.[4] Water buffalo were traded from the Indus Valley Civilisation to Mesopotamia, in modern Iraq, 2500 BC by the Meluhhas.[5] The seal of a scribe employed by an Akkadian king shows the sacrifice of water buffalo.[6]

At least 130 million domestic water buffalo exist, and more human beings depend on them than on any other domestic animal.[7] They are especially suitable for tilling rice fields, and their milk is richer in fat and protein than that of dairy cattle. The large feral population of northern Australia became established in the late 19th century, and smaller feral herds are in New Guinea, Tunisia, and northeastern Argentina.[1] Feral herds are also present in New Britain, New Ireland, Irian Jaya, Papua New Guinea, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, Brazil, and Uruguay.[8]

Characteristics

A water buffalo in Thailand
An albino swamp buffalo in Chiang Mai province, Thailand

The skin of river buffalo is black, but some specimens may have dark, slate-coloured skin. Swamp buffalo have a grey skin at birth, but become slate blue later. Albinoids are present in some populations. River buffalo have comparatively longer faces, smaller girths, and bigger limbs than swamp buffalo. Their dorsal ridges extend further back and taper off more gradually. Their horns grow downward and backward, then curve upward in a spiral. Swamp buffalo are heavy-bodied and stockily built; the body is short and the belly large. The forehead is flat, the eyes prominent, the face short, and the muzzle wide. The neck is comparatively long, and the withers and croup are prominent. A dorsal ridge extends backward and ends abruptly just before the end of the chest. Their horns grow outward, and curve in a semicircle, but always remain more or less on the plane of the forehead. The tail is short, reaching only to the hocks. Height at withers is 129–133 cm (51–52 in) for males, and 120–127 cm (47–50 in) for females. They range in weight from 300–550 kg (660–1,210 lb), but weights of over 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) have also been observed.[1]

Tedong bonga is a black pied buffalo featuring a unique black and white colouration that is favoured by the Toraja of Sulawesi.[9]

The swamp buffalo has 48 chromosomes; the river buffalo has 50 chromosomes. The two types do not readily interbreed, but fertile offspring can occur. Buffalo-cattle hybrids have not been observed to occur, and the embryos of such hybrids do not reach maturity in laboratory experiments.[10]

The rumen of the water buffalo has important differences from that of other ruminants.[11] It contains a larger population of bacteria, particularly the cellulolytic bacteria, lower protozoa, and higher fungi zoospores. In addition, higher rumen ammonia nitrogen (NH4-N) and higher pH have been found as compared to those in cattle.[12]

Ecology and behavior

Water buffalo enjoy being in water.
Water buffalo wallowing in mud

River buffalo prefer deep water. Swamp buffalo prefer to wallow in mudholes which they make with their horns. During wallowing, they acquire a thick coating of mud.[1] Both are well adapted to a hot and humid climate with temperatures ranging from 0 °C (32 °F) in the winter to 30 °C (86 °F) and greater in the summer. Water availability is important in hot climates, since they need wallows, rivers, or splashing water to assist in thermoregulation. Some breeds are adapted to saline seaside shores and saline sandy terrain.[13]

Diet

Water buffalo thrive on many aquatic plants and during floods, will graze submerged, raising their heads above the water and carrying quantities of edible plants. They eat reeds, Arundo donax, a kind of Cyperaceae, Eichhornia crassipes, and Juncaceae. Some of these plants are of great value to local peoples. Others, such as E. crassipes, are a major problem in some tropical valleys and water buffalo may help to keep waterways clear.

Green fodders are used widely for intensive milk production and for fattening. Many fodder crops are conserved as hay, chaffed, or pulped. Fodders include alfalfa, the leaves, stems or trimmings of banana, cassava, Mangelwurzel, esparto, Leucaena leucocephala and kenaf, maize, oats, pandaros, peanut, sorghum, soybean, sugarcane, bagasse, and turnips. Citrus pulp and pineapple wastes have been fed safely to buffalo. In Egypt, whole sun-dried dates are fed to milk buffalo up to 25% of the standard feed mixture.[1]

Reproduction

A water buffalo calf in India

Swamp buffalo generally become reproductive at an older age than river breeds. Young males in Egypt, India, and Pakistan are first mated at about 3.0–3.5 years of age, but in Italy they may be used as early as 2 years of age. Successful mating behaviour may continue until the animal is 12 years or even older. A good river male can impregnate 100 females in a year. A strong seasonal influence on mating occurs. Heat stress reduces libido.[1]

Although buffalo are polyoestrous, their reproductive efficiency shows wide variation throughout the year. Buffalo cows exhibit a distinct seasonal change in displaying oestrus, conception rate, and calving rate.[14] The age at first oestrus of heifers varies between breeds from 13–33 months, but mating at the first oestrus is often infertile and usually deferred until they are 3 years old. Gestation lasts from 281–334 days, but most reports give a range between 300 and 320 days. Swamp buffalo carry their calves for one or two weeks longer than river buffalo. It is not rare to find buffalo that continue to work well at the age of 30, and instances of a working life of 40 years are recorded.[1]

Taxonomic history

Water buffalo

Carl Linnaeus first described the genus Bos and the water buffalo under the binomial Bubalis bubalus in 1758; the latter was known to occur in Asia and as a domestic form in Italy.[15] Ellerman and Morrison-Scott treated the wild and domestic forms of the water buffalo as conspecifics[16] whereas others treated them as different species.[17] The nomenclatorial treatment of wild and domestic forms has been inconsistent and varies between authors and even within the works of single authors.[18]

In March 2003, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature achieved consistency in the naming of wild and domestic water buffalo by ruling that the scientific name Bubalus arnee is valid for the wild form.[19] B. bubalis continues to be valid for the domestic form and applies also to feral populations.[20]

Domestication and breeding

Murrah buffalo at the Philippine Carabao Center

Water buffalo were domesticated in India about 5000 years ago, and in China about 4000 years ago. Two types are recognized, based on morphological and behavioural criteria – the river buffalo of the Indian subcontinent and further west to the Balkans and Italy, and the swamp buffalo, found from Assam in the west through Southeast Asia to the Yangtze valley of China in the east.[3] The present-day river buffalo is the result of complex domestication processes involving more than one maternal lineage and a significant maternal gene flow from wild populations after the initial domestication events.[21] Twenty-two breeds of the river type water buffalo are known, including Murrah, Nili-Ravi, Surti, Jafarabadi, Anatolian, Mediterranean, and Egyptian buffalo.[22] China has a huge variety of buffalo genetic resources, comprising 16 local swamp buffalo breeds in various regions.[13]

Results of mitochondrial DNA analyses indicate that the two types were domesticated independently.[23] Sequencing of cytochrome b genes of Bubalus species implies that the domestic buffalo originated from at least two populations, and that the river and the swamp types have differentiated at the full species level. The genetic distance between the two types is so large that a divergence time of about 1.7 million years has been suggested. The swamp type was noticed to have the closest relationship with the tamaraw.[24]

Distribution of populations

Carabao buffalo in the Philippines

The water buffalo population in the world is about 172 million.[25]

In Asia

Carabao cart in the Philippines in 1899

More than 95.8% of the world population of water buffalo are found in Asia, including both river and swamp types.[13] The water buffalo population in India numbered over 97.9 million head in 2003, representing 56.5% of the world population. They are primarily of the river type, with 10 well-defined breeds comprising Badhawari, Murrah, Nili-Ravi, Jafarabadi, Marathwada, Mehsana, Nagpuri, Pandharpuri, Toda, and Surti. Swamp buffalo occur only in small areas in the north-eastern part of the country and are not distinguished into breeds.[26]

In 2003, the second-largest population lived in China, with 22.759 million head, all of the swamp type with breeds kept only in the lowlands, and other breeds kept only in the mountains; as of 2003, 3.2 million swamp-type carabao buffalo were in the Philippines, nearly three million swamp buffalo were in Vietnam, and 772,764 buffalo were in Bangladesh. About 750,000 head were estimated in Sri Lanka in 1997.[13]

The water buffalo is the main dairy animal in Pakistan, with 23.47 million head in 2010.[27] Of these, 76% are kept in the Punjab. The rest of them are mostly in the province of Sindh. Breeds used are Niliravi, Kundi, and Azi Kheli.[28] Karachi has the largest population of water buffalos for an area where fodder is not grown, consisting of 350,000 head kept mainly for milking.

In Thailand, the number of water buffalo dropped from more than 3 million head in 1996 to less than 1.24 million head in 2011.[29] Slightly over 75% of them are kept in the country's northeastern region. The statistics also indicate that by the beginning of 2012, less than one million were in the country, partly as a result of illegal shipments to neighboring countries where sales prices are higher than in Thailand.

Water buffalo are also present in the southern region of Iraq in the Mesopotamian Marshes. The draining of the Mesopotamian Marshes by Saddam Hussein was an attempt to punish the south for the 1991 uprisings in Iraq. After 2003 and the Firdos Square statue destruction, these lands were reflooded and a 2007 report on Maysar and Dhi Qar Governorates shows a steady increase in the number of water buffalo. The report puts the number at 40,008 head in those two provinces.[30]

In Europe and the Mediterranean

Water buffalo likely were introduced to Europe from India or other Oriental countries. To Italy they were introduced about the year 600 in the reign of the Longobard King Agilulf. As they appear in the company of wild horses, they probably were a present from the Khan of the Avars, a Turkic nomadic tribe that dwelt near the Danube River at the time. Sir H. Johnston knew of a herd of water buffalo presented by a King of Naples to the Bey of Tunis in the mid-19th century that had resumed the feral state in northern Tunis.[31]

European buffalo are all of the river type and considered to be of the same breed named Mediterranean buffalo. In Italy, the Mediterranean type was particularly selected and is called Mediterranean Italian breed to distinguish it from other European breeds, which differ genetically. Mediterranean buffalo are also found in Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, Kosovo, and the Republic of Macedonia, with a few hundred in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Hungary. Little exchange of breeding buffalo has occurred among countries, so each population has its own phenotypic features and performances. In Bulgaria, they were crossbred with the Indian Murrah breed, and in Romania, some were crossbred with Bulgarian Murrah.[13] Populations in Turkey are of the Anatolian buffalo breed.[22]

In Australia

A feral water buffalo in Australia

Between 1824 and 1849, water buffalo were introduced into the Northern Territory from Timor, Kisar, and probably other islands in the Indonesian archipelago. In 1886, a few milking types were brought from India to Darwin. They have been the main grazing animals on the subcoastal plains and river basins between Darwin and Arnhem Land since the 1880s. In the early 1960s, an estimated population of 150,000 to 200,000 buffalo were living in the plains and nearby areas.[32]

They became feral and are causing significant environmental damage. Buffalo are also found in the Top End. As a result, they were hunted in the Top End from 1885 until 1980. The commencement of the brucellosis and tuberculosis campaign (BTEC) resulted in a huge culling program to reduce buffalo herds to a fraction of the numbers that were reached in the 1980s. The BTEC was finished when the Northern Territory was declared free of the disease in 1997. Numbers dropped dramatically as a result of the campaign, but have since recovered to an estimated 150,000 animals across northern Australia in 2008.[33]

During the 1950s, buffalo were hunted for their skins and meat, which was exported and used in the local trade. In the late 1970s, live exports were made to Cuba and continued later into other countries. Buffalo are now crossed with riverine buffalo in artificial insemination programs, and may be found in many areas of Australia. Some of these crossbreds are used for milk production. Melville Island is a popular hunting location, where a steady population up to 4,000 individuals exists. Safari outfits are run from Darwin to Melville Island and other locations in the Top End, often with the use of bush pilots. The horns, which can measure up to a record of 3.1 m (10 ft) tip-to-tip, are prized hunting trophies.[34]

The buffalo have developed a different appearance from the Indonesian buffalo from which they descend. They live mainly in freshwater marshes and billabongs, and their territory range can be quite expansive during the wet season. Their only natural predators in Australia are adult saltwater crocodiles, with whom they share the billabongs, and dingoes, which have been known to prey on buffalo calves and occasionally adult buffalo when the dingoes are in large packs.

Buffalo were exported live to Indonesia until 2011, at a rate of about 3000 per year. After the live export ban that year, the exports dropped to zero, and had not resumed as of June 2013.[35]

In South America

Murrah buffalo in a Brazilian Farm

Water buffalo were introduced into the Amazon River basin in 1895. They are now extensively used there for meat and dairy production. In 2005, the buffalo herd in the Brazilian Amazon stood at roughly 1.6 million head, of which 460,000 were located in the lower Amazon floodplain.[36] Breeds used include Mediterranean from Italy, Murrah and Jafarabadi from India, and Carabao from the Philippines.

During the 1970s, small herds were imported to Costa Rica, Ecuador, Cayenne, Panama, Surinam, Guyana, and Venezuela.[37]

In Argentina, many game ranches raise water buffalo for commercial hunting.

In North America

In 1974, four water buffalo were imported to the United States from Guam to be studied at the University of Florida. In February 1978, the first herd arrived for commercial farming. Until 2002, only one commercial breeder was in the United States. Water buffalo meat is imported from Australia.[37] Until 2011, water buffalo were raised in Gainesville, Florida, from young obtained from zoo overflow. They were used primarily for meat production, frequently sold as hamburger.[38] Other US ranchers use them for production of high-quality mozzarella cheese.[39][40][41][42]

Husbandry

Water buffalo ploughing rice fields in Java, Indonesia
Water buffalo are used for ploughing in Si Phan Don, Laos.
Water buffalo dung is dried against the façade of a house in Yuanyang County, Yunnan, China

The husbandry system of water buffalo depends on the purpose for which they are bred and maintained. Most of them are kept by people who work on small farms in family units. Their buffalo live in very close association with them, and are often their greatest capital asset. The women and girls in India generally look after the milking buffalo while the men and boys are concerned with the working animals. Throughout Asia, they are commonly tended by children who are often seen leading or riding their charges to wallowing places. Water buffalo are the ideal animals for work in the deep mud of paddy fields because of their large hooves and flexible foot joints. They are often referred to as "the living tractor of the East". It probably is possible to plough deeper with buffalo than with either oxen or horses. They are the most efficient and economical means of cultivation of small fields. In most rice-producing countries, they are used for threshing and for transporting the sheaves during the rice harvest. They provide power for oilseed mills, sugarcane presses, and devices for raising water. They are widely used as pack animals, and in India and Pakistan also for heavy haulage. In their invasions of Europe, the Turks used buffalo for hauling heavy battering rams. Their dung is used as a fertilizer, and as a fuel when dried.[1]

Buffalo contribute 72 million tones of milk and three million tones of meat annually to world food, much of it in areas that are prone to nutritional imbalances. In India, river-type buffalo are kept mainly for milk production and for transport, whereas swamp-type buffalo are kept mainly for work and a small amount of milk.[26]

Dairy products

Dairy products of water buffalo milk

Water buffalo milk presents physicochemical features different from that of other ruminant species, such as a higher content of fatty acids and proteins.[43] The physical and chemical parameters of swamp and river type water buffalo milk differ.[44] Water buffalo milk contains higher levels of total solids, crude protein, fat, calcium, and phosphorus, and slightly higher content of lactose compared with those of cow milk. The high level of total solids makes water buffalo milk ideal for processing into value-added dairy products such as cheese. The conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) content in milk ranged from 4.4 mg/g fat in September to 7.6 mg/g fat in June. Seasons and genetics may play a role in variation of CLA level and changes in gross composition of the water buffalo milk.[45]

Water buffalo milk is processed into a large variety of dairy products:[46]

Top ten buffalo milk producers — 11 June 2008[49]
Country Production (tonnes) Footnote
 India 56,960,000 Unofficial, Semi-official, mirror data
 Pakistan 21,500,000 official figure
 People's Republic of China 2,900,000 FAO estimate
 Egypt 2,300,000 FAO estimate
   Nepal 930,000 FAO estimate
 Iran 241,500 FAO estimate
 Myanmar 205,000 FAO estimate
 Italy 200,000 FAO estimate
 Turkey 35,100 FAO estimate
 Vietnam 31,000 FAO estimate
 World 85 396 902

Meat and skin products

Main article: Buffalo meat

Water buffalo meat, sometimes called "carabeef", is often passed off as beef in certain regions, and is also a major source of export revenue for India. In many Asian regions, buffalo meat is less preferred due to its toughness; however, recipes have evolved (rendang, for example) where the slow cooking process and spices not only make the meat palatable, but also preserve it, an important factor in hot climates where refrigeration is not always available.

Their hides provide tough and useful leather, often used for shoes.

Bone and horn products

The bones and horns are often made into jewellery, especially earrings. Horns are used for the embouchure of musical instruments, such as ney and kaval.[50]

Environmental effects

Wildlife conservation scientists have started to recommend and use introduced populations of feral domestic water buffalo in far-away lands to manage uncontrolled vegetation growth in and around natural wetlands. Introduced water buffalo at home in such environs provide cheap service by regularly grazing the uncontrolled vegetation and opening up clogged water bodies for waterfowl, wetland birds, and other wildlife.[51][52] Grazing water buffalo are sometimes used in Great Britain for conservation grazing, such as in Chippenham Fen National Nature Reserve. The buffalo can better adapt to wet conditions and poor-quality vegetation than cattle.[53]

Currently, research is being conducted at the Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies to determine the levels of nutrients removed and returned to wetlands when water buffalo are used for wetland vegetation management.

However, in uncontrolled circumstances, water buffalo can cause environmental damage, such as trampling vegetation, disturbing bird and reptile nesting sites, and spreading exotic weeds.[54]

Research

The super carabaos at the milking and breeding station

The world's first cloned buffalo was developed by Indian scientists from National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal. The buffalo calf was named Samrupa. The calf did not survive more than a week, and died due to some genetic disorders. So, the scientists created another cloned buffalo a few months later, and named it Garima.[55]

On 15 September 2007, the Philippines announced its development of Southeast Asia's first cloned buffalo. The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD), under the Department of Science and Technology in Los Baños, Laguna, approved this project. The Department of Agriculture's Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) will implement cloning through somatic cell nuclear transfer as a tool for genetic improvement in water buffalo. "Super buffalo calves" will be produced. There will be no modification or alteration of the genetic materials, as in genetically modified organisms.[56]

On 1 January 2008, the Philippine Carabao Center in Nueva Ecija, per Filipino scientists, initiated a study to breed a super water buffalo that could produce 4 to 18 litres of milk per day using gene-based technology. Also, the first in vitro river buffalo was born there in 2004 from an in vitro-produced, vitrified embryo, named "Glory" after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Joseph Estrada's most successful project as an opposition senator, the PCC was created through Republic Act 3707, the Carabao Act of 1992.[57]

In culture

Ceramic water buffalo from 2300 BC found in Lopburi, Thailand
Water Buffalo (Suigyū) by Katsushika Hokusai, circa 1875
Horns of water buffalo sacrificed in West Sumba, Indonesia, circa 1936 (collection Tropenmuseum)

Some ethnic groups, such as Batak and Toraja in Indonesia and the Derung in China, use water buffalo or kerbau (called horbo in Batak or tedong in Toraja) as sacrificial animals at several festivals.

Fighting festivals

An unstaged water buffalo fight

Racing festivals

Water buffalo racing at Babulang 2006
Buffalo race at Vandar village, Udupi district, India.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Cockrill, W. R. (1977). The water buffalo (PDF). Rome: Animal Production and Health Series No. 4. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
  2. ↑ Lau, C. H., Drinkwater, R. D., Yusoff, K., Tan, S. G., Hetzel, D. J. S. and Barker, J. S. F. (1998). Genetic diversity of Asian water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis): mitochondrial DNA D-loop and cytochrome b sequence variation. Animal Genetics 29(4): 253–264.
  3. 1 2 Cockrill, W. R. (ed.) (1974). The husbandry and health of the domestic buffalo. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
  4. ↑ Yang, D. Y., Liu, L., Chen, X., Speller, C. F. (2008). Wild or domesticated: DNA analysis of ancient water buffalo remains from north China. Journal of Archaeological Science 35: 2778–2785.
  5. ↑ McIntosh, J. (2008). The Ancient Indus Valley: New Perspectives. ABC-CLIO, Santa Barabara.
  6. ↑ Khan, G., Church, S. K., Harding, R., Lunde, P., McIntosh, J., Stone, C. (2011). The First Civilizations in Contact: Mesopotamia and the Indus. The Civilizations in Contact Project, Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge.
  7. ↑ Scherf, B. D. (2000). World watch list for domestic animal diversity. Third edition. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
  8. ↑ Long, J. L. (2003). Introduced Mammals of the World: Their History, Distribution and Influence. Csiro Publishing, Collingwood, Australia. ISBN 9780643099166
  9. ↑ Priyanto, D., Suradisastra, K. (2010). Ko-evolusi dan Panarchy: Integrasi Ternak Kerbau dalam Sistem Sosial Etnis Toraja. Seminar dan Lokakarya Nasional Kerbau 2010
  10. ↑ Kochhar, H. P., Rao, K. B., Luciano, A. M., Totey, S. M., Gandolfi, F., Basrur, P. K., King, W. A. (2002). "In vitro production of cattle-water buffalo (Bos taurus - Bubalus bubalis) hybrid embryos". Zygote 102: 155–162.
  11. ↑ Wanapat, M.; Ngarmsang, A.; Korkhuntot, S.; Nontaso, N.; Wachirapakorn, C.; Beakes, G.; Rowlinson, P. (2000). A comparative study on the rumen microbial population of cattle and swamp buffalo raised under traditional village conditions in the northeast of Thailand. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences 13 (7): 918–921.
  12. ↑ Wanapat, M. (2001). "Swamp buffalo rumen ecology and its manipulation". Proceedings Buffalo Workshop.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Borghese, A., Mazzi, M. (2005). Buffalo Population and Strategies in the World. Pages 1–39 in Borghese, A. (ed.) Buffalo Production and Research. REU Technical Series 67. Inter-regional Cooperative Research Network on Buffalo, FAO Regional Office for Europe, Rome.
  14. ↑ Barile, V. L. (2005). Reproductive Efficiency in Female Buffaloes. Pages 77–108 in Borghese, A. (ed.) Buffalo Production and Research. REU Technical Series 67. Inter-regional Cooperative Research Network on Buffalo, FAO Regional Office for Europe, Rome.
  15. ↑ Linnaei, C. (1758). Bubalis bubalus Page 72 in: Caroli Linnæi Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Imensis Direct. Laurentii Salvii, Holmiae.
  16. ↑ Ellerman, J. R., Morrison-Scott, T. C. S. (1966). Checklist of Palaearctic and Indian mammals 1758 to 1946. Second edition. British Museum of Natural History, London. Pp. 383–384.
  17. ↑ Corbet, G. B. and Hill, J. E. (1987). A World List of Mammalian Species, Second edition. London: British Natural History Museum. ISBN 0565009885.
  18. ↑ Groves, C. P. (1971). "Request for a declaration modifying Article 1 so as to exclude names proposed for domestic animals from Zoological Nomenclature". Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 27: 269–272.
  19. ↑ International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (2003). Opinion 2027 (Case 3010). Usage of 17 specific names based on wild species which are predated by or contemporary with those based on domestic animals (Lepidoptera, Osteichthyes, Mammalia): conserved. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 60: 81–84.
  20. ↑ Gentry, A. Clutton-Brock, J., Groves, C. P. (2004). The naming of wild animal species and their domestic derivatives. Journal of Archaeological Science 31: 645–651.
  21. ↑ Kumar, S., Nagarajan, M., Sandhu, J. S., Kumar, N., Behl, V. (2007). "Phylogeography and domestication of Indian river buffalo". BMC Evolutionary Biology 7: 186. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-7-186.
  22. 1 2 Moioli, B. and A. Borghese (2005). Buffalo Breeds and Management Systems. Pages 51–76 in Borghese, A. (ed.) Buffalo Production and Research. REU Technical Series 67. Inter-regional Cooperative Research Network on Buffalo, FAO Regional Office for Europe, Rome.
  23. ↑ Kumar, S., Nagarajan, M., Sandhu, J. S., Kumar, N., Behl, V. and Nishanth, G. (2007). "Mitochondrial DNA analyses of Indian water buffalo support a distinct genetic origin of river and swamp buffalo" (PDF). Animal Genetics 38: 227–232. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2052.2007.01602.x.
  24. ↑ Tanaka, K., Solis, C. D., Masangkay, J. S., Maeda, K., Kawamoto, I. Y. and Namikawa, T. (1996). Phylogenetic relationship among all living species of the genus Bubalus based on DNA sequences of the cytochrome b gene. Biochemical Genetics 34: 443–452.
  25. ↑ Borghese, A. (2011). Situation and Perspectives of Buffalo in the World, Europe and Macedonia. Macedonian Journal of Animal Science 1 (2): 281–296.
  26. 1 2 Singh, C. V. and R. S. Barwal (2010). Buffalo Breeding Research and Improvement Strategies in India. Pages 1024–1031 in The Buffalo in the World. Proceedings of the 9th World Buffalo Congress, Buenos Aires, April 2010.
  27. ↑ Agricultural Census Commission (2012). Pakistan Agricultural Census 2010. Government of Pakistan, Statistics Division, Agricultural Census Organization, Lahore.
  28. ↑ FAO (2013). Breeds reported by Pakistan: Buffalo. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Rome.
  29. ↑ Uriyapongson, S. (2013). Buffalo and Buffalo Meat in Thailand. Buffalo Bulletin 32: 329–332.
  30. ↑ Abid, Haider (February 2007). "Water Buffalo in the Iraqi Marshes". Nature Iraq: 29.
  31. ↑ Lydekker, R. (1898). "The Indian buffalo – Bos bubalis". Wild Oxen, Sheep, and Goats of all Lands. London: Rowland Ward. pp. 118–128.
  32. ↑ Letts, G. A. (1964). "Feral Animals in the Northern Territory". Australian Veterinary Journal 40 (3): 84–88. doi:10.1111/j.1751-0813.1964.tb01703.x.
  33. ↑ The feral water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). Fact Sheet. Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Retrieved on 17 July 2012.
  34. ↑ Sharp, K. (2009). Frontier to the Crossroads. Outback Magazine 67:
  35. ↑ ABC website Buffalo exports still suffering June 10, 2013
  36. ↑ Sheikh, P. A., Merry, F. D., McGrath, D. G. (2006). "Water buffalo and cattle ranching in the Lower Amazon Basin: Comparisons and conflicts". Agricultural Systems 87: 313–330. Abstract
  37. 1 2 National Research Council (U.S.). (2002). The Water Buffalo: New Prospects for an Underutilized Animal : Report. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.
  38. ↑ "Buffalos find home on the kitchen range // Sought-after meat lower than beef in cholesterol, fat" (1989). Austin American Statesman: D3
  39. ↑ Mehren, E. (2003). "Water buffalo enlisted for Vermont venture" Chicago Tribune.
  40. ↑ Mehren, E. (2003). "A Taste of Italy, Via Vermont" (2003). Los Angeles Times
  41. ↑ Associated Press (2006). "Buffalo make the mozzarella" Los Angeles Times.
  42. ↑ Fletcher, J. (2006). "Buffalo milk's curds and whey" San Francisco Chronicle.
  43. ↑ D'Ambrosio, C., Arena, S., Salzano, A. M., Renzone, G., Ledda, L. and Scaloni, A. (2008). A proteomic characterization of water buffalo milk fractions describing PTM of major species and the identification of minor components involved in nutrient delivery and defense against pathogens. Proteomics 8(17): 3657–3666.
  44. ↑ Khan, M. A. S., Islam, M. N., Siddiki, M. S. R. (2007). Physical and chemical composition of swamp and water buffalo milk: a comparative study. Italian Journal of Animal Science 6, (Suppl. 2): 1067–1070.
  45. ↑ Han, X., Lee , F. L., Zhang, L. and M. R. Guo (2012). Chemical composition of water buffalo milk and its low-fat symbiotic yogurt development. Functional Foods in Health and Disease 2 (4): 86–106.
  46. ↑ Borghese, A. (2005). Buffalo Cheese and Milk Industry. Pages 185–195 in Borghese, A. (ed.) Buffalo Production and Research. REU Technical Series 67. Inter-regional Cooperative Research Network on Buffalo, FAO Regional Office for Europe, Rome.
  47. ↑ https://agritrop.cirad.fr/574408/2/document_574408.pdf
  48. ↑ "Buffalo Milk". Dairy For All. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
  49. ↑ Food And Agricultural Organization of United Nations: Economic And Social Department: The Statistical Division
  50. ↑ "Why Wear Horn Earrings?" (PDF). Bandaru Organics. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  51. ↑ BBC News February 2004 Buffalo improve wildlife habitat
  52. ↑ "Buffaloes and wetlands" -- grazing in wetland management: A discussion from the Ramsar Forum over late March 1998
  53. ↑ Natural England (2008). "Buffalo improve wildlife habitat in Cambridgeshire". Natural England East of England press office.
  54. ↑ Roth, J. and P. Myers (2004). "Bubalis Bubalis". University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Animal Diversity Web.
  55. ↑ Samrupa, World's first cloned buffalo calf from India. Retrieved from Topinews.com
  56. ↑ Hicap, Jonathan M. (17 September 2007). "RP to produce Southeast Asia`s first cloned buffalo".
  57. ↑ Uy, Jocelyn (2007-12-31). "'Super carabao' making the scene in year of the rats".
  58. ↑ Dutta, Pullock (12 January 2008). "Bonfire, feast & lots more". The Telegraph (Calcutta, India). Retrieved 2008-01-19.
  59. ↑ Do Son: buffalo fighting festival (Vietnam), 14 September 2005, VietNamNet Bridge
  60. ↑ Do Son Buffalo Fighting Festival Vietnam, Asiarooms.com
  61. ↑ Buffalo Fighting in Hai Luu Commune, Vietnam News Agency
  62. ↑ VIDEO on YouTube:Water Buffalo-fighting festival: Buffalo-fighting festival is annually held on the 15th of the lunar two month in Hai Luu (Vinhphuc City). It results in this saying: "Go everywhere you want, but come back on the 15th of the lunar two month to attend the buffalo-fighting festival". Eventually, all those fighting buffalo are slaughtered as tributes to the deities.
  63. ↑ Buffalo Fighting Festival Ko Samui, asiarooms.com
  64. ↑ Buffalo Fighting Festival, Koh Samui Festivals & Events, Thailand. Hotel and Travel Links Co. Ltd. Thailand
  65. ↑ Buffalo Racing, Thailand, thailand-guide.org (p) some content provided by Tourism Authority of Thailand, Last Updated : 1 July 2007; Watching the Buffalo Racing, by Panrit "Gor" Daoruang, 14 October 2003, Thailand Life; Running of the buffalo: Thais take their beasts of burden to the races; by: Alisa Tang, Associated Press Writer; Buffalo Racing, The lowdown by Aliwyn Cole, 1 August 2005, Urban Lowdown; "Running with the Buffalo", originally published in the Learning Post, a supplement of the Bangkok Post
  66. ↑ Buffalo Racing in Cambodia, 27 September 2006
  67. ↑ "Bull race held at Kaakkoor peacefully". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 27 February 2004.
  68. ↑ "'Maramadi' winners". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 27 February 2004.

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Water buffalo.
Wikispecies has information related to: Water buffalo
Wikisource has the text of an 1879 American Cyclopædia article about Water buffalo.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, May 04, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.