Physiology of the water buffalo

Water buffalo: what is it like

The Asian buffalo’s body height ranges from 1.21 to 1.31 meters, and its body length ranges from 2.2 to 3 meters; the species' mass varies from 0.57 to 0.74 tons. During the “embryo” stage, the developing young have a body mass from 0 to 35 kilograms and a body length from 0 millimeters to 80 centimeters. The “calf” stage sees young with a body mass from 30 kilograms to 0.25 tons and a body length from 80 centimeters to 1.5 meters. Following rapid growth, the young have a body mass from 0.25 to 0.7 tons and a body length from 1.5 to 2.4 meters. The “adult” stage shows individuals with a body mass from 0.7 to 1.2 tons and a body length from 2.4 to 3 meters.

Mass
571346–742815 g
Length
2200–3000 mm
Lifespan
5479–9131 days 15–25 years
42710
0
1
water-buffalo
en
water buffalo
Bubalus bubalis
21
The Asian water buffalo is a large mammal with a massive body and long horns. It spends a lot of time in water or mud to cool down and protect itself from insects.
The Asian water buffalo differs from the African buffalo with longer and more curved horns and a strong attachment to water. It is important for nature as a spreader of plant seeds and for humans as a working animal in agriculture.
gnaws plants
trophic:herbivore
#d5d3c8
Mass (adult even-toed ungulate, male)
700000–1200000 g
Mass (adult even-toed ungulate, female)
600000–800000 g
Mass (embryo)
0–35000 g
Mass (calf)
30000–250000 g
Mass (adolescent)
15510–139589 g
Length (embryo)
0.1–800 mm
Length (calf)
800–1500 mm
Length (adult even-toed ungulate, male)
2400–3000 mm
Length (adult even-toed ungulate, female)
2200–2700 mm
Length (adolescent)
1500–2400 mm
Height
1210–1310 mm
Maturity
486–810 days 1–2 years
Lifespan maximum
11871 days 32 years 6 months
Theoretical lifespan
12747–12747 days 34 years 11 months
Gestation
320 days 10 months 3 weeks
Litter size
1
Maturity
730–1825 days 2–5 years
Offspring
1
Duration (adult even-toed ungulate)
1461–12775 days 4–35 years
Duration (adolescent)
297–495 days 9 months 4 weeks – 1 year 4 months
Duration (calf)
1–365 days 1 day – 1 year
Duration (embryo)
270–340 days 9–11 months
Age (embryo)
101 days 3 months 2 weeks
Age (juvenile)
749 days 2 years 1 month
Age (from birth to death)
12747–12747 days 34 years 11 months
Repro interval
365–730 days 1–2 years
Hooves count (adolescent)
4
Horns count (adult even-toed ungulate)
2
Horns count (adolescent)
2
Horns count (calf)
2
Tail count (adult even-toed ungulate)
1
Horns size (adolescent)
150–600 mm
Hooves size (adolescent)
80–120 mm
Horns size (calf)
20–150 mm
Horns size (adult even-toed ungulate)
500–1200 mm
Tail size (adult even-toed ungulate)
600–900 mm
Body temp (adult even-toed ungulate)
36–39 °C
Reproduction
normal sexual
Comparable in mass
Truck
Shelter materials
aquatic plants
Shelter materials
grass
Shelter materials
sedge
Trophic type
herbivore
Feeding
leaves
Feeding
sedge and reeds
Feeding
reeds
Feeding
grass
Feeding
algae
Feeding (calf)
milk
Feeding (after transformation until death)
leaves
Feeding
Plants
Reproduction
live birth
Reproduction
land
Physiology
The fur changes gradually, most intensely in spring when old hairs fall out.
5478.75
9131.25
12747.0
12747.224609375
2200.0
3000.0
571345.5787982855
742814.955247455
The fur changes gradually, most intensely in spring when old hairs fall out.
-1
-1
meadows, prairies, forb glades on land
homogamy, reproduction always with fertilization, no alternation of generations
Worker
Tail size
Were {name} like {animal}, then:
birth time
Heavy rains in summer
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
very hot and very humid all year round, rain almost every day
days
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
very heavy rains in summer, almost no precipitation in winter
adult even-toed ungulate
Maturity
About health
milk
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Truck
Repro interval
results
Southeast Asia and islands, always hot and humid
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
hot, rains in summer, little precipitation in winter
little precipitation in winter, more in summer
Trophic type
Filters
Tail count
leaves
grass
Upcoming birthdays
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
leaf
Height
rains almost always, very humid
young are born live on land, not hatched from eggs or roe
aquatic plants
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
Hot, little precipitation in winter
Age (embryo)
Wanderers
algae
Hooves count
world of Australasia
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
More:
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
Lifespan average
leaves
Body temp
adolescent
protection from insects
Juvenile stage following larval metamorphosis but not yet adult.
live birth
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
hot, there is a dry season, trees shed their leaves
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
swampy freshwater biotopes — peat bogs, marshes, river mangroves
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
Horns count
hot, uneven rains, lots of grass and trees
Pets
Indomalayan realm
Primary oral structure used to seize, manipulate, or ingest food.
Indomalayan realm
Tropical dry broadleaf forest
Feeding occurs primarily on land or in vegetation.
{name} jubilee
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
mouth
turns
Rascals
terrestrial grassland and steppe
terrestrial herbaceous
Tail color
Flooded grasslands
Horns size
drink mother's milk in childhood
Litter size
Tropical savanna
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
grazing
more than 0.35 tons, from 2.5 meters
°C
Not specified
Share
Actively searching habitats to locate food items.
Where are they found?
Species lacks any fixed or lasting shelter structure.
steppe
herbivore
Feeds by cropping or nibbling low-growing vegetation or algae.
Low precipitation in winter
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
leaves and stems of grasses and other herbaceous vegetation
Bro
normal sexual
freshwater marsh and wetlands
Taxons
if born as {name}
Foraging takes place among trees and woody vegetation.
age
birth date
no permanent shelter
tearing
rest
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
climbing
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
primary food sources
teeth
after transformation until death
Potential Habitat
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Mass
young shoots and leaves of plants
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
terrestrial
Plants
Gestation
islands and part of Australia, many unusual animals and plants
Rips or shreds food using teeth, beak or claws.
land
{name} birthday
Food is gathered directly from leaf surfaces.
grass
Link copied
Always hot
sedge
No results found
On the map
Pleasant summer
Female ♀
all life stages
gnaws plants
Body color
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0 Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Horns color
birth year
lots of grass, few trees, rains occur
Maturity
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
comfortable summer, +20…+25 °C
Hooves color
protection from sun
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
calf
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
What if eaten?
Neither
Moving up vertical surfaces like trunks or rocks to reach food.
from birth to adulthood
Young offspring still dependent on parental care.
What do they eat?
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
Hard dental structures used to bite, tear, or scrape food.
water often floods the land, lots of grass
Duration
Always hot and wet
This is me
Always very wet
Gamers
aquatic plants and algae
How are they built?
Temperate steppe
Hooves size
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
sedge, reed and other coastal herbaceous plants
terrestrial
Asexual
swap
Southeast Asia and islands, always hot and humid
Who among us will transform as if by magic and become like {animal}?
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
Denotes a grassland or steppe habitat preference.
Warm summer and lots of rain
inhabit and develop on land, outside water bodies
sedge and reeds
celebrated their {n} birthday
open grassy spaces — steppes, savannas, prairies
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
very hot all year round, frequent rains, but sometimes dry
reeds
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
foraging
Hermaphrodite ⚥
embryo
Length
kg
lots of rain, warm and pleasant summer
arboreal
Observations
◉{N} more on tap
calf
pupa
imago
adolescent
water-buffalo
aziatskij-bujvol
asiya-camisi
jamws-alma
aziatskij-bujvol
asiakan-gomes
suigyuu
ts-q-lis-k-amechi
aziatskij-bujvol
mulso
bujvol
vodeni-bivo
water-buffalo
buyvollar
shui-niu
16