Idea #398 – Observing the Sri Lankan Buffaloes of Swamps
The domestic buffalo is also known in French under the names of buffalo of Asia, buffalo of swamps (B. b. bubalis) and buffalo of rivers (B. b. water buffalo). This large-sized bovine, subservient to the wild state in the wet circles, remains very attracted by the aquatic zones and it does not exist of ” buffalo of earth “, unless calling so the African wild species Syncerus sp ., which forms another genre in the different morphology. The wild population which would count less than 3500 mature individuals is mainly distributed in India, in Nepal, in Bhutan and in Thailand. Some individuals’ tens remain in Sri Lanka, crossed with “brown” individuals. The wild buffaloes live in herds of around thirty individuals who feed mainly on herbs, on water plants even of fruits and leaves. The main predators of the buffalo are the tiger, the man and the crocodile for bufflons. The buffalo is the second the biggest wild ox after the gaur and weighs from 700 to 1 200 kg, it possesses the biggest horns at the ruminants: they can measure up to two meters.
Where is it ?
Udawalawe Natural Park, Sri Lanka