Description of the dwarf buffalo

Under the word “buffalo” we immediately represent a large animal that lives in the mountains, forests or grazes on the field. In fact, not all representatives of this animal family are huge. A striking example demonstrating this can be a dwarf buffalo, which is a mini-prototype of a bull.

Dwarf forest buffalo

African mini buffalo

Forest dwarf buffalo is a bright representative of artiodactyl mammals.This species of animals is flat-billed, as it belongs to the family of bovids. mini buffalo to the African subspecies and on in fact, it has the smallest size among all the bulls, if we take individual specimens of the family, then on average their body weight reaches 270 kg and their height is about 120 cm. Moreover, the weight of the females may not even exceed 100 kg, which is surprising.

This dwarf forest buffalo predominantly has a red color, but dark patches are quite often found on its shoulders and on its head. As for the horns, they are small and make up about 40 cm, while growing back and to the top. Miniature tassels also grow in the wool directly on the ears. The habitat of this species is the equatorial forest of the central and western parts of the African continent.The distinctive features of this species are considered to be:

• miniature body height – about 100-120 cm;
• red coat color;
• body weight, which varies in between 100-270 kg depending on the sex;
• small horns on the head.

Due to the fact that these African dwarf buffalo have miniature sizes, they often become real prey of larger representatives of the fauna. Dangerous for them are leopards. In addition, such a dwarf suffers greatly due to the active influence of insects on his body. In order to be saved, small birds help him in this matter, otherwise the animal has to systematically swim in the mud.

Anoa – what is it: a brief description

Another buffalo-midget of the artiodactyl family of mammals lives directly on the Eurasian continent. This is a dwarf buffalo from the island of Sulawesi under the name Anoa. Very often, huge groups of these representatives can be found directly in Indonesia. Due to this, this species is often called the famous dwarf buffalo from the island of Sulawesi.

Outwardly, anoa resembles such an animal as an antelope, since they have identical horns. This dwarf buffalo, living in Indonesia, has a very small horn, the length of which does not exceed 25 cm, which makes anoa very similar to antelopes.Horns mainly grow back, which does not allow them to be threatening, like other representatives of horned ones.

The dwarf buffalo, or anoa, has a truly small size. The weight of males reaches 280 kg, and in females it is 2 times less. As for their length, it averages 80 cm or a little more. The dwarf buffalo of the Anoa variety is most often pure brown in color, but representatives with black wool are also sometimes found. It is worth paying attention to the fact that the calves of this animal from the island of Sulawesi are born golden and quite motley, but adult individuals do not have a wool coat.

Dwarf anoa and species

This dwarf buffalo of Indonesia, mainly living in the forests of Asia and its tropical part, has a completely calm character. It is this factor that does not give him the opportunity to protect himself in front of large animals. If a person encounters this animal, then you should not be afraid of him, since he will not do any harm. These dwarf buffalo of Indonesia move mainly in small groups, but sometimes you can find individual individuals. On average, this animal lives with Sulawesi for only 20 years, and therefore is on the verge of extinction.

This dwarf wild buffalo was divided by scientists into the following species:

• flat;
• mountain.

Naturally, many consider such a classification conditional, but in fact they have distinctive features. The dwarf species that lives on the plains in comparison with the mountain representative is the owner of a very long tail, as well as a horn. Often such a small wild buffalo finds itself in the bordering territories.

Philippine variety

Another bright representative is tamarau – the dwarf artiodactyl species that lives in the Philippines. If you compare him with all the relatives, then he is no different from them. Its height does not exceed 1 m, the length rarely reaches 2 m, but the tail is about 60 cm. The weight of an adult tamarau usually varies from 200 to 300 kg. The length of its horns does not exceed 40 cm: note that in males they are more closely spaced, their appearance is flat and the structure is dense.

This dwarf species prefers a solitary lifestyle, so in groups you can notice it very rarely, most often its representatives move along Together they can be seen only during the breeding season. The basis of the diet of these representatives from the Philippines is grass, and they lead an active lifestyle in the daytime. At night they sleep in fairly dense thickets. The number of this species decreases every year, as a systematic deforestation of tropical forests.

When considering the animal kingdom, special attention should be paid to the buffalo. Despite the fact that we consider him a formidable and large representative of artiodactyls, in fact, miniature species are also found in nature.