Water Buffalo

True Wild Life | Water Buffalo | The water buffalo is thought to have originated in Asia but has since been introduced to Australia, Africa, Europe and North America. The wild Asian water buffalo is now considered to be an endangered species. The water buffalo has been domesticated by humans for thousands of years and is used to pull heavy machinery and to carry heavy loads. Buffalo are farmed in most countries for their meat.

The water buffalo lives in herds with anywhere from a few buffalo to bigger herds in Africa that commonly have hundreds of buffalo per herd. The buffalo is common prey for larger predators such as tigers, crocodiles and lions. The buffalo belongs to the same family of animals as wild cows. This group also includes the African buffalo and the American bison along with the yak and the zebu. Male water buffaloes have very distinctive, large curved horns on the tops of their heads. The male water buffalo is also about a third large than the female water buffalo and the male water buffalo is therefore more commonly used as agricultural aid.

Water buffalo spend most of their time submerged in the muddy waters of Asia's tropical forests. By doing this, the water buffalo is able to keep itself cool in the hot and humid jungle conditions. The hooves on the water buffalo's feet are spread out which allows the water buffalo to stop itself from sinking into the mud on the river beds and swampland. The water buffalo is herbivorous animal and the water buffalo therefore has a purely vegetarian diet. Water buffalo munch on aquatic plants when they are in water but water buffalo seem to prefer to leave the water to find grassland where the water buffalo can graze on grasses, leaves and herbs.

Female water buffalo produce one water buffalo calf every couple of years. After a gestation period of up to 11 months, the female water buffalo gives birth to her buffalo baby. The baby water buffalo stays with its mother and is dependant on her for it's first couple of years. After about three years, male water buffaloes leave the mother water buffalo to join all male water buffalo groups. The female water buffalo will often remain in the same water buffalo herd as it's mother. Although the wild Asian water buffalo is now considered to be an endangered animal, the commercially farmed water buffalo can be found all around the world. There are thought to be more than 150 million commercially farmed water buffalo across the globe today which are farmed for their milk, meat and leather.

New Toys!

"May I have some too please?"

Three cozies, four cavies in a row

Whee are especially excited to show you the new toys we got today! Our slaves went to an adoption/education event held by Orange County Cavy Haven and came back with not one, but three cozy sacks for us! Whee piggies love it whenever our slaves attend one of their events, because it always means that they come back with new toys or treats for us.

Cozy sacks, also known as cozies, are portable roomy guinea pig sized pouches for us to sleep, hide, and play in. They are quite multifunctional - sort of like a sleeping bag and a cave rolled up into one, and are usually made with fleece so we will stay dry even if we decide to go to the bathroom inside. Human slaves also find these useful for carrying us, especially because most piggies become nervous when being transported somewhere. Letting us hide in our cozy allows us to feel safer and more secure while simultaneously allowing the human to carry us without the usual squirming.

Our slaves picked out three for us, two have a ladybug pattern and the other has a colorful heart pattern. In the meantime, feel free to look at our pictures, all of which are clickable so you may see our cuteness up close (no, whee are too cute to believe in modesty). We've spent the last few hours playing in them and have worked up quite an appetite, so its off to munching on some hay!

"Wait, this isn't the entrance!"

Demonstrating the sleeping bag function

All snuggled up

Barbados Sheep Lambs

Have you heard the saying, "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb." Well here at Wildwood Wildlife Park, March came in with 4 lambs - Barbados Lambs that is!


We welcomed these adorable Barbados sheep on March 28, 2011.


These regal looking sheep is a breed of domestic sheep that originated in the Caribbean island of Barbados from hair sheep brought in by traders from Africa during the 1600s. They are also known as Blackbelly Barbados.


The Barbados sheep are very fast and in many ways resemble deer. They are "hair sheep" which means they do not grow wool. Instead, they have long coarse hair. Barbados sheep raised in cooler climates, such as at Wildwood Wildlife Park, will adapt to the cooler temperatures by developing a very fine wool undercoat that they will shed in the spring.


Bibliography:
Internet: www.blackbellysheep.org; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbados_Blackbelly-Sheep

Piggy Pic of the Day: Edible Beans and Non Edible Beans

Coppy eating some beans while sitting next to some toy beans (our slaves tell us that they were featured in Toy Story 3). Apparently, toy beans are not edible beans. What a shame, whee think it might be rather fun to eat beans of that size.