Identification:
Resembling domestic buffalo but larger and more robust.
Morphology:
Body length up to 2.8 m (9.2 ft). Weight: 800 – 1200 kg (1764 – 2646 lbs). Large head with a short muzzle. Forehead with long, dense, grayish-black hair. A V-shaped patch of white hair on the lower neck. Horns are long and curved like a crescent moon, 1.4 – 2 m (4.6 – 6.6 ft) in length. The horn’s base has a triangular cross-section. The horn’s body has many wrinkles, and the tip of the horn is pointed towards the rear. Back is gray or brownish-gray. Short tail with a tuft of hair at the end.
Biology and Ecology:
Diet:
Grasses, leaves, bamboo shoots, and young tree shoots.
Reproduction:
Gestation period is approximately 10 months. Breeding cycle is one offspring every three to four years, with one calf per birth.
Habitat and Social Behavior:
Typically inhabits old-growth forests, open forests along rivers and streams, or deep valleys with wet, muddy, flat terrain, and does not live in high mountains with steep slopes. They live in herds of 20 – 30 individuals. They forage during the day, in the morning and evening, in open forests, forest edges, and areas with grasslands and bushes. They usually rest during midday, wallowing in mud and water during hot weather. At night, the entire herd sleeps in a circle, with the young and old in the center. Wild buffalo are vulnerable to tiger and leopard attacks, but they are generally safe due to their herd behavior, which provides mutual protection.
Distribution:
Within Vietnam: Kontum, Đắk Lắk.
Globally: India (Assam), Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia.
Value:
The ancestor of domestic buffalo. A valuable gene pool. Can be hybridized with domestic buffalo to create a stronger breed, with increased meat production and other products such as leather, hair, bone, and horns for handicrafts.
Conservation Status:
Wild buffalo are becoming increasingly rare. They formerly had a wide distribution, documented in many places such as: Thừa Thiên – Huế, Đồng Nai (upper reaches of the Đồng Nai River, La Ngà River), Bình Dương (Thủ Dầu Một), Ho Chi Minh City (Gia Định), and Côn Đảo, Phú Quốc Island. Today, they may only remain in Đắk Lắk (Ea Súp, Đắc Nông). Exploitation and deforestation for agriculture are causing habitat loss.
Conservation Assessment:
CR B2a,b C1 + 2a.
Conservation Measures:
Included in the Vietnam Red Book and the IUCN Red List (1996, 2000), classifying the wild buffalo as EN (Endangered). Decree 18/HĐBT, Decree 48/2002/NĐ-CP of the Government strictly prohibits hunting, trapping, and trade. Hunting wild buffalo herds in the Phi Lao forest area (Đạo Nghĩa, Đắk Nông) is prohibited, and forest protection in this area has been implemented to allow the wild buffalo population to flourish.