Rafael Francisco, age 13, of Asbury Park, N.J., for his question:
HOW DID THE WATER BUFFALO GET ITS NAME?
Several kinds of wild oxen are called water buffaloes. They received their name because they like to wallow in the mud and water a large part of the day. Also, some of them have been domesticated and they will work in bogs and flooded fields where other work animals cannot find footing.
Powerful water buffaloes are used by rice farmers in Southeast Asia because the large animals enjoy the mud and the water. And they can also do work that no other animal can, making them among the most useful of all farm animals.
The water buffalo of India is one of the largest of wild cattle. The bulls as the males are called, are often six and a half feet tall and their horns may spread 12 feet from tip to tip, measured along the curve. The horns sweep out and back and form almost a circle, and are three sided.
The Indian buffalo's hide is bluish black and it is easy to see through its thin hair. Wild Indian buffaloes graze in herds of about 50 animals.
Both wild and domesticated water buffaloes have keen senses of smell. They are very fierce when wild and can be a match for a large lion or tiger.
The Indian water buffalo has long been used in the rice fields of Asia and makes rice farming possible on a large scale. This powerful animal can plow knee deep in mud.
The water buffalo has been important to many other parts of the world, in addition to India. The animal works in Egypt, Spain, Italy, Hungary, southern Soviet regions, southern Asia, the East Indies and the Philippine Islands.
Buffalo hide is tough and thick and makes good leather. The milk of the cow is nourishing with more fat than milk of domestic cows. It is used in India for making a liquid butter.
The carabao is a smaller water buffalo of the Philippines. It is also important in farming. It is bluish black in color and becomes almost hairless when old.
A native wild buffalo on Mindoro Island is called the tamarau.
Africa is the home of two types of wild buffalo that are not actually water buffaloes. These are the big Cape buffalo, which has flattened horns, and the smaller Congo buffalo of central Africa.
The carabao is a slow animal. It will not work in the heat of the day. But it will travel.through the bogs and marshes where no other large animal can pass. Like the Indian water buffalo, the carabao loves the water and is a good swimmer.
The carabao is fearless in the wild state. When wounded, it becomes dangerous and charges fiercely with great speed. In the Philippines, people tame the carabao and use it to draw carts and carry loads. Some farmers use tame carabaos to cultivate rice fields.