Sunrise found us wading through muck, mud, and dirty water, rising well above my knees. My wife, who stands a foot shorter than me, was having a more difficult time as the water reached her never mind region. She mumbled something about boy scouts and idiots.
Every step brought up a new squadron of mosquitoes, so thick they could carry you away to nourish their young. We sprayed down with insect repellant every 30 minutes, but the mosquitoes didn’t seem to mind. Right after I sprayed down again, a bloated mosquito, obviously suffering from heartburn, landed on my arm for seconds.
What would bring us to a place, 6,000 miles from home, on the Argentina side of the Parana River? A hunt for the Asian water buffalo. Our guide, and longtime friend, Roberto Torres, thought it best that we stay on the edge of the swamp, where the buffalo live, so we might have a better view of any potential proceedings.
The Asian water buffalo is one of the most dangerous animals around, period. Some confusion arises because there are 2 types of water buffalo in Asia, India, and other parts of the world. Some are domesticated and used as a beast of burden. These are no more dangerous than ordinary cattle, sometime allowing people to ride on their backs.
The wild water buffalo is another story. If you wish to attempt to ride his back, you best have your affairs in order first. A large bull water buff will weigh in at near a long ton, similar to his African cousin, the Cape buffalo. He is equipped with a very capable set of horns, and hooves the size of fire hydrants, with the disposition of a constipated rattlesnake. He just plain does not like you.
The water buffalo, Bubalus bubalis as he is known in scientific circles, hails from the Indian subcontinent to Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and many countries in between. They were introduced to the Amazon River basin in 1895, and the domesticated herd is used extensively for meat and dairy production. As of 2019, Brazil boasted a population of 1.4 million head.
There are 2 subspecies of water buffalo, the river buffalo, and the swamp buffalo. River buffaloes have longer faces and bigger limbs. The swamp buffalo have bigger bodies, appear much stockier, and have shorter bodies and limbs. They aren’t called water buffalo for nothing as they are usually found in water over your never mind.
Skin color on the water buffalo varies. Most of them have black skin, but some will show a grayish, slate color. There are stories of the albino, but they are rare indeed.
The most impressive feature, and it is most apparent when he is looking at you, would be the horns. Water buffalo have the largest horns of any living animal. The average horn size for a water buffalo is 24 to 32 inches, 16 inches in circumference at the base, and can easily exceed 4 feet in distance between the outer edges of their horns.
Despite their massive size, water buffaloes are herbivores. They dine on the aquatic plants, grasses, and leaves found in the area. They can swim well, often spend time submerged, eating the water plants on the bottom of the water bodies they reside in, raising their heads occasionally to breath and swallow the food.
The lifespan of a water buffalo that has been domesticated can exceed 25 years, but in the wild, 10 years is about the oldest they will survive. They are not overly aggressive, but when cornered or wounded, will easily turn on you. If you see one coming, best be prepared to repel borders, lest you wish you hadn’t opened hostilities in the first place. And don’t try to outrun or out-maneuver him because he can reach 30mph.
Many of these countries, Argentina included, have a large feral population of water buffalo. Hunters from around the world come to hunt these feral populations, which continue to grow at a steady pace. Some of these feral populations have lived in the wilds for over 150 years.
In 1974, Guam shipped 4 water buffalo to the University of Florida for study, which resulted in more coming over for commercial farming 4 years later. Several ranches raise them currently for meat production, mostly hamburger, and for making high-quality mozzarella cheese. There are currently no feral populations in the United States.
Florida is a possible spot to support a population of water buffalo. They can tolerate extreme heat and humidity, but don’t like temperatures below 32 degrees, especially if it freezes their water holes. Water availability is important, especially in hot climates, since they need wallows, rivers, or splashing water to assist in thermoregulation, and Northern Florida just might fill that bill.
As the 3 of us continued our trudge along the edge of the swamp, my wife noticed a set of black horn tips sticking out of the water and moving directly toward us. Once those horn tips reached the shallower edge, about 40 feet in front of us, a massive river water buffalo emerged, staring directly at us. The look in his eyes made it very clear I was the undisputed center of his attention. Game on.
Mark Rackay
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Mark Rackay is a columnist for the Montrose Daily Press, Delta County Independent, and several other newspapers, as well as a feature writer for The Nautical Mile, and several other saltwater fishing magazines. He is an avid hunter and world class saltwater angler, who travels around the world in search of adventure and serves as a Director and Public Information Officer for the Montrose County Sheriff’s Posse.
