Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Water buffalo \Wa"ter buf"fa*lo\ (Zo["o]l.) The European buffalo.
Wiktionary
n. 1 A large ungulate, widely used as a domestic animal in Asia, South America. North Africa and Europe: (taxlink Bubalus bubalis species noshow=1). 2 (context US colloquial English) A water tank mounted on a trailer to be towed by a motor vehicle.
WordNet
n. Asiatic buffalo often domesticated for use as a draft animal [syn: water ox, Asiatic buffalo, Bubalus bubalis]
Wikipedia
The water buffalo or domestic Asian water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) is a large bovid originating in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and China. Today, it is also found in Europe, Australia, and some African countries. The wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee) native to Southeast Asia is considered a different species, but most likely represents the ancestor of the domestic water buffalo.
Two extant types of water buffalo are recognized based on morphological and behavioural criteria – the river buffalo of South Asia and further west to the Balkans, Egypt, and Italy, and the swamp buffalo, found from Assam in the west through Southeast Asia to the Yangtze valley of China in the east. The origins of the domestic water buffalo types are debated, although results of a phylogenetic study indicate that the swamp type may have originated in China and was domesticated about 4,000 years ago, while the river type may have originated from India and was domesticated about 5,000 years ago. Water buffalo were traded from the Indus Valley Civilisation to Mesopotamia, in modern Iraq, 2500 BC by the Meluhhas. The seal of a scribe employed by an Akkadian king shows the sacrifice of water buffalo.
At least 130 million domestic water buffalo exist, and more people depend on them than on any other domestic animal. They are especially suitable for tilling rice fields, and their milk is richer in fat and protein than that of dairy cattle. The large feral population of northern Australia became established in the late 19th century, and smaller feral herds are in New Guinea, Tunisia, and northeastern Argentina. Feral herds are also present in New Britain, New Ireland, Irian Jaya, Papua New Guinea, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, Brazil, and Uruguay.
The water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) is a domesticated bovid widely kept in Asia, Europe and South America.
Water buffalo can also refer to:
- Wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee), the wild ancestor of the domestic water buffalo
- Various other smaller species in the genus Bubalus
- Water buffalo (zodiac), a Vietnamese zodiac sign
- Water buffalo incident, a racial controversy at the University of Pennsylvania in 1993
- LVT-2 Water Buffalo, a US Second World War military vehicle used to transport potable water for troops in the field
- A nickname for the Suzuki GT750 motorcycle
- A World War II US water tank mounted on a 2-wheeled trailer, catalog number G-527
The buffalo is the second animal symbol in the 12-year cycle of the Vietnamese zodiac, taking place of the Ox in the Chinese zodiac. Water buffalo are industrious and patient. In general, the year is slow and steady, appropriate for scientists. The hours of the buffalo are from 1 to 3 am.
Usage examples of "water buffalo".
His brigade had had to eat an awful lot of water buffalo and monkey and elephant.
One of the water buffalo calves began a repetitive lowing as if it were a machine that needed repairs.
It was once an elephant watering hole, then used by water buffalo, now it's just a muddy sink.
While Nkima and Jad-bal-ja attempted to come to the rescue, out on the veldt, the water buffalo, head bent, horns projected, was charging down on Tarzan.
Those plow animals were the cow, horse, water buffalo, Bali cattle, and yak / cow hybrids.
He rode over the mud on a sledlike plow, whipping the steaming flanks of his water buffalo with a long, bamboo rod.
Palmer Stoat had been there twice before, once for a water buffalo and once for a lion.