BUFFALO (Sp. btifulo, Med. Lat. bufa/us, Lat. bubalus, wild ox, from Gk. pail3aiac, bouba los, a species of African antelope). Properly, an ox of the restricted bovine genus Bubalus, and specifically Bubalas buffelus, of India. The word, however, has been broadly applied not only to many heavy oxen, such as those of Africa, and to the American bison (see BisoN), but also to certain large antelopes (see BeitAus, to which, perhaps. it originally belonged), and to other large ruminants; thus the city of Buffalo, N. V., probably derives its name through a misnomer by early wanderers of the wapiti. The buffaloes proper form a group of oxen "chiefly character ized by their more or less flattened and angulated horns, which incline upward and backward, with an inward curve toward their tips, and are placed before the . . . vertex of the skull." The type is the INDIAN or WATER BUFFALO, of which small wild herds still exist in many parts of India, the finest belonging to Assam and Burma. This animal, called by the natives 'a rue'' (Hind., ma se. area, fem. arni), is the largest of wild cattle, standing 6 feet high at the withers, and a spread of horns sometimes exceed ing 6 feet. It is bluish-black, nearly hairless, and frequents swampy jungles. where it is re garded as exceedingly dangerous, as it will charge a man entirely unprovoked, and when, perhaps, its presence is unsuspected. A band forming a circle, with lowered heads. around the cows and calves defy the hear or tiger, and a, lone bull has been known to vanquish a tiger in single combat ; combats between them have been a favorite sport among Indian princes. This buffalo has long been domesticated, first on the Indian plains, whence it was carried elsewhere in prehistoric times. It is highly valued in Illalaya, China, and Japan, especially where rice is cul tivated, and the carabao of the Philippines is only a variety of it. It reached Egypt very long ago, but subsequently to the era of the monu ments and pieture-writings; and it has gone far lip the Nile, and will probably be carried much farther into the swampy region now opening to civilization, because of its usefulness in soft, wet lands, and its fondness for coarse aquatic vegetation in preference to dry and more costly forage. It has long been used, also, in the Niger Valley. It was introduced into Italy later than Roman times, and thrives in the Pontine marshes on the pestilential Maremma; and it plays an important part in western Asia, Turkey, Hungary, and southeastern Spain. "The buffalo loves mud and moist ground." says Hornaday Two Years in the Jungle), "and nature has pro vided these broad splay feet to prevent the ani mal from sinking too deeply in the mud. Ile
carries his head precisely like a camel, low down, with nose thrust far forward . . . and to look at the whole head one would say that the beast was created with especial reference to running rapidly through very thick brush." It, is said to he far more powerful than the ox, and capable of dragging or carrying a far heavier load. The female yields a mud] greater quantity of milk than a cow, and of excellent quality, from which the yher or semi-finid butter of India is made. The hhhe is greatly valued for its strength and durability, but the flesh is very inferior to that of the ox. See CATTLE.
The AFRICAN Ik PTALOES are of two species, the South African or Cape Buffalo (Baba/us caller), which also extends northeasterly to Abyssinia ; and the West African species Iltubalus pumilus). These may be separable into several distinct, species or varieties. The typical and well-known South African buffalo is nearly the equal in size of the Indian one, and like it has a bluish-black hide, in old age almost completely hairless. Its horns, however, are somewhat shorter, and spread sideways, with up-curved ends, from the forehead. where the bases nearly meet in a broadly flattened expanse, making a rough buckler of horn. They frequent marshes and rivers, wading about in the water most of the time and eating the aquatic vegetation. Formerly they gathered in large herds, but now are rarely seen except in small bands, and they have disappeared entirely from all the settled regions. Their scent is remarkably keen. and they are warned of the approach of a disturber by the birds (see BUFFALO-Bum), which remain near them and are vigilant. They are justly re garded as exceedingly dangerous by sportsmen, since when wounded they will charge with ex treme speed and ferocity. They are, however, overcome by lions and leopards, and sometimes pulled down by crocodiles or chased to exhaus tion by packs of wild dogs. This animal has not been tamed or domesticated; hut its hide is much valued for its thickness and strength.
The West African species is smaller, has shorter and less massive horns, and is ruddy brown in color. Its habits seem to be similar to those of the more southern species, and it is widely dis tributed in Central Africa. The zamouse of Sierra Leone is typical of this species. The small wild ox of the Celebes is a near relative of the buffaloes. See ANOA BANTENG BISON; GA CR ; YAK; EXTINCT ANIMALS.