Water buffalo in south eastern Europe

Many thanks to Elli Broxham of the SAVE Foundation for this guest post. We asked her to write about her work on water buffalo after she commented on a recent piece we did on the species in Azerbaijan. Many thanks, Elli.

Coming from the north east west of Europe as I do, I am always amazed by the animal breeds of south eastern Europe. This time, however, it wasn’t just a breed that surprised me — it was a whole species. I was given the task of setting up a network for the conservation of autochthonous water buffalo in south eastern Europe as part of my role as programme coordinator at the SAVE Foundation.

The learning curve was pretty steep, made more difficult by the fact that there isn’t all that much information around. Once I had a list of people who were interested I began working on a literature-based table of descriptions so that, when I finally saw the buffalo, I’d know what I was looking at. However, that wasn’t as easy as it seemed. The final table of descriptions mainly shows that no one agrees with each other. It was the same with the origins of buffalo in Europe too. It was also the same when we got to the subject of stock numbers.

It seems safe to say that there is a general lack of knowledge about the situation of buffalo in south eastern Europe. On a global scale, Riverine or Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) are a very popular species. In 2000, FAO estimated that there were approximately 158 million water buffalo in the world, and that 97% of them were in Asia.

Although buffalo are a bovine species, they are very different from the cattle more commonly kept in Europe. The animals are suitable for triple usage (milk, meat and traction), which make them attractive in regions with low economic resources. In south eastern Europe buffalo have been an important addition to farms, especially in subsistence and semi-subsistence agriculture.

Buffalo were once numerous and popular within the region of south eastern Europe. Even though the origins of buffalo in Europe are not yet clear, it is possible to see that the buffalo have adapted to their local environments: the Carpathian and Transylvanian types have hard hooves for moving over stones and have a thick winter coat. And, wherever the buffalo live, this Riverine type loves to swim.

Buffalo were valued for their frugality, longevity and triple-use. The negative side of the buffalo is, perhaps, part of the key to its downfall: the cows often only let down their milk for one person –- usually the man of the family. They can also be aggressive and are extremely willful and stubborn.

The research and networking led to a workshop held in Romania in May 2011. You can read the whole report online and also see all the presentations and summaries.

Participants agreed that one of the most important next steps is to get scientific testing done to see if we are talking about one large population throughout south eastern Europe or, as suspected by many, there is a distinct “mountain type” found in the Carpathians. Once this information is available, it will be easier to develop a conservation strategy. If you are interested in helping us with this, please get in touch with me (elli.broxham at save-foundation.net).

NOTE: This just in. Ed.