🐃 Water buffalo

Water buffalo is a large domestic bovine of warm countries, kept for milk, meat and draught work. This is the domestic water buffalo: according to the FAO, buffalo provide about 15% of the world’s milk — more than all goats, sheep and camels combined. Over 98% of buffalo live in Asia; in India and Pakistan more buffalo milk is produced than cow’s milk, and in Pakistan and Nepal there are more milking buffalo than milking cows.

There are river buffalo (the main dairy breeds of South Asia) and swamp buffalo, which are smaller and give less milk. A river buffalo usually gives 1,500–4,500 liters per lactation. Buffalo stay productive for a long time, up to 20 years, although they first calve late and the intervals between calvings are long.

Buffalo milk is rich (often 6–8% fat or more) and white, without a yellowish tint. In South Asia it is made into ghee, paneer and sweets, and in Italy’s Campania into mozzarella di bufala, protected in the EU.