Asiatic water buffalo: Lost species of the lost wetlands
Excessive hunting and development relentlessly intruded into marshes, swamps, and plains, and thus wiped out the species during the early 19th century
As the name suggests, these buffaloes love water. Now, you may have a clue why these hunks could not survive in Bangladesh.
But the fact that buffaloes once existed in Kamrangirchar, now a nucleus of Dhaka city's hustle-and-bustle, is neither a myth nor a hoax.
In the book "Environment of Capital Dhaka", it was mentioned that "In the 17th century, to the south on the bank of Buriganga, there was a vast swamp forest named Kamrangirchar. The buffalo was a well-known mammal to Dhakaites between 17th and 19th century."
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The book was published by the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh on the 400th birth anniversary of Dhaka.
Although the population in the south-central coast survived a bit longer than the one in Kamrangirchar, Bangladesh does not have a single wild specimen – all are domesticated.
Scientific name: Bubalus arnee
Global status: Endangered. It lives in small isolated populations in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, and Cambodia, with an unconfirmed population in Myanmar. It is also extinct in Laos, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka.
Remarks: Horns, unlike those of their African cousins, are laterally bent, very widely spaced, pointed upwards and straight.
The Asiatic water buffalo is heavily associated with wet grasslands, swamps, flood plains and densely vegetated river valleys.
To see one in the wild, the closest option is to visit the Kaziranga National Park in Assam, India.
