Description of the pygmy buffalo
When we say "buffalo", we immediately imagine a large animal that lives in the mountains, forests, or grazes in the field. In fact, not all members of this family of animals are huge. A striking example demonstrating this can be the dwarf buffalo, which is a mini prototype of the bull.
Dwarf forest buffalo
African mini buffalo
Forest dwarf buffalo is a prominent representative of artiodactyl mammals. This type of animal is bovine, as it belongs to the bovid family. This mini buffalo belongs to the African subspecies and in fact has the smallest size among all 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. At the same time, the weight of females may not exceed 100 kg at all, which is surprising.
This dwarf forest buffalo is predominantly red in color, but dark areas are often found on the shoulders and on the head. As for the horns, they are small and are about 40 cm, while growing back and in the upper part. Also, miniature tassels grow in the wool directly on the ears. The habitat of this species is the forests of the equatorial type of the central and western part of the African continent. Distinctive features of this type are considered to be:
- miniature body height - about 100-120 cm;
- red coat color;
- body weight, which varies between 100-270 kg depending on gender;
- small horns on the head.
Due to the fact that these African dwarf buffaloes are miniature in size, they often become real prey for larger representatives of the fauna. Leopards are considered dangerous for them. In addition, such a dwarf suffers greatly due to the active influence of insects on its body. In order to be able to escape, small birds help him in this matter, otherwise the animal has to systematically bathe in the mud.
Anoa - what he is: a short description
Another buffalo-lilliput of the artiodactyl family of mammals lives directly on the Eurasian continent. This is a dwarf buffalo from the island of Sulawesi called 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 looks like an animal like an antelope, as they have identical horns. This dwarf buffalo living in Indonesia has a very small horn that does not exceed 25 cm in length, which makes the anoa very similar to antelope. Horns grow mainly backward, which does not give them the opportunity to be threatening, like other representatives of horned ones.
The dwarf buffalo, or anoa, is truly small in size. The weight of males reaches 280 kg, while 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 sometimes representatives with black wool are also found. At the same time, it is worth paying attention to the fact that the young of this animal from the island of Sulawesi are born golden and quite variegated, but the adults do not have a woolen cover.
Dwarf anoa and species
This dwarf buffalo of Indonesia, predominantly found in the forests of Asia and its tropical parts, has a completely calm nature. It is this factor that does not give him the opportunity to defend himself in front of large animals. If a person meets this animal, then you should not be afraid of him, since he will not cause any harm. These dwarf buffaloes of Indonesia move mainly in small groups, but sometimes you can meet individual individuals. On average, this animal lives from the Sulawesi for only 20 years, and therefore is on the verge of extinction.
This dwarf wild buffalo was divided by scientists into the following types:
- flat;
- mountain.
Naturally, many consider such a classification conditional, but in fact they have distinctive features. The dwarf species living on the plains, in comparison with the mountain representative, has a very long tail, as well as a horn. Often such a small wild buffalo ends up in bordering areas.
Philippine variety
Another prominent representative is tamarau - a dwarf artiodactyl species that lives in the Philippines. If you compare him with all relatives, then he is no different from them. Its height does not exceed 1 m, its 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 their structure is dense.
This dwarf species prefers a solitary way of life, therefore it is extremely rare to notice it in groups, most often its representatives move alone. Together they can only be seen during the breeding season. Grass is the basis of the diet of these representatives from the Philippines, and they lead an active lifestyle during the day. At night they sleep in rather dense thickets. The number of this species is decreasing every year, as there is a systematic deforestation of tropical forests.
Considering the animal world, 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 also occur in nature.