Two species related to the domestic water buffalo (Bubalus bubalus) used to occur in the western Palearctic. The extinct European water buffalo (Bubalus murrensis ) and the wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee ) that is still extant in Asia today and probably the ancestor of the domesticated form.
Domestic water buffalo have been used in a number of natural grazing projects, sometimes in semi-wild herds. No free-ranging wild populations currently exist.
Ecological niche | Large Herbivore |
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Region | Europe - Central, Europe - Southeastern, Europe - Western, Middle East - Levant |
Status in w palearctic | 1% or less of original range |
Z ecotourism potential | 3 |