AAA starts helping rescued working water buffaloes for the first time
We have some great news to share!
Visakha Society for Protection and Care of Animals [VSPCA] is the first partner in AAA’s history that rehabilitates and cares for ex- working water buffaloes. These domesticated, working buffaloes (not wild water buffaloes) are from Asia and India.
VSPCA rescues these animals from various industries including factories, farms, trucks on route to abattoirs or dairies where they were abused, neglected or no longer productive and discarded.
Unfortunately, as Pradeep Nath [ VSPCA President] explains, they do not have the same protection as cows in India so we have to work very hard to change the laws and attitudes towards these beautiful animals.
Because this is the first time that working water buffaloes are being supported by us, we thought we would share some interesting facts about these majestic animals.
-They are part of the bovine family, animals that have hooves, so they are in the same family as cows, yaks etc
-There are two main types of water buffalo- the river buffalo and the swamp buffalo.
-There are wild water buffaloes and domesticated water buffaloes.
Domesticated water buffalos are the ones our partner, VSPCA rescue and care for. According to the World Animal Foundation, researchers believe water buffalos came from India and Southeast Asia and are believed to have been domesticated around 4000-7000 years ago.
Water buffaloes love the water as they use it to keep themselves cool and to keep away insects.
The Indian water buffalo can live up to 40 years of age and live mainly on a diet of grass
That’s all for now, but in the coming months, we look forward to bringing you some more information about these water buffaloes and the important role they play, weaved into the stories coming from our partner VSPCA about the humbling work they are doing to rescue, care and protect them.
Buffaloes from Shelter 1 being fed the special green fodder which is a rarity in the urban areas, but we take care to anyhow get them from as far as 20kms to them.
