| HOME NATIONAL PARKS AND GAMES RESERVES. HISTORIC SITES FOREIGN EXCHANGE ANIMALS ACCOMODATION ATTRACTIONS AT THE COAST MOMBASA RIFT VALLEY | | The Buffalo is the common name of several kinds of large wild oxen. The name was first given to the black water buffalo of India. This large animal was so named because it likes to soak itself in pools of water for hours at a time. In its wild state the water buffalo can be dangerous. But wild water buffaloes have become scarce because people have hunted them and cleared their forest habitats for farmland. Domestic (tame) water buffaloes are used as beasts of burden in most of the warmer parts of Asia and Africa. The carabao is a small Philippine variety of domestic water buffalo. A wild black buffalo, called the tamarau, lives in dense forests on the Philippine island of Mindoro. This small buffalo stands only 31/2 feet (107 centimeters) high. The anoa, a still smaller forest buffalo, lives on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. These animals are quite rare and are classified as endangered species. Wild buffaloes also live in Africa. The Cape buffalo of South Africa is a large, black animal with nearly as bad a temper as that of the Indian buffalo. It resembles the Indian buffalo in many of its habits, but has never been tamed. Another wild buffalo, related to the Cape buffalo, lives in forested regions in western and central Africa. One form of this buffalo lives in the Congo region. Like the tamarau, it stands only 31/2 feet (107 centimeters) high. The Buffalo is the common name of several kinds of large wild oxen. The name was first given to the black water buffalo of India.This large animal was so named because it likes to soak itself in pools of water for hours at a time. In its wild state the water buffalo can be dangerous. But wild water buffaloes have become scarce because people have hunted them and cleared their forest habitats for farmland. Domestic (tame) water buffaloes are used as beasts of burden in most of the warmer parts of Asia and Africa. The carabao is a small Philippine variety of domestic water buffalo. A wild black buffalo, called the tamarau, lives in dense forests on the Philippine island of Mindoro. This small buffalo stands only 31/2 feet (107 centimeters) high. The anoa, a still smaller forest buffalo, lives on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. These animals are quite rare and are classified as endangered species. Wild buffaloes also live in Africa. The Cape buffalo of South Africa is a large, black animal with nearly as bad a temper as that of the Indian buffalo. It resembles the Indian buffalo in many of its habits, but has never been tamed. Another wild buffalo, related to the Cape buffalo, lives in forested regions in western and central Africa. One form of this buffalo lives in the Congo region. Like the tamarau, it stands only 31/2 feet (107 centimeters) high. | |
