# Water buffalo (*Bubalus bubalis*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/water-buffalo  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) is a living mammal in the family Bovidae, subfamily Bovinae and tribe Bovini, within the order Artiodactyla. It falls in the giant size class, with a representative adult body mass of 431.2 kg and a highest reported value of 827.3 kg. The water buffalo is a terrestrial, cathemeral herbivore. Gestation lasts from 310 to 330 days, with 1 litter per year, and sexual maturity is reached at 1.5 years; checklists record it in Australia.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 431.2 kg – 827.3 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 31.9 years |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 34.9 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Gestation | 310 days – 330 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1.38 |
| Age at maturity | 18.2 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Active | Day and night (cathemeral) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Not recorded |
| Countries on record | 1 country |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Artiodactyla
- family: Bovidae
- genus: Bubalus
- species: *Bubalus bubalis* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Bos bubalis*, *Bubalus bubalis bubalis*, *Bubalus bubalis kerabau*, *Bubalus bubalis seminudus*

## Countries on record

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

Australia

## Common questions

### How heavy is a water buffalo?

The water buffalo has a representative adult body mass of 431.2 kg, with a highest reported value of 827.3 kg. This places it in the giant size class.

### What does the water buffalo eat?

The water buffalo is a herbivore.

### What kind of animal is the water buffalo?

The water buffalo is a mammal in the family Bovidae, order Artiodactyla.

### How long does a water buffalo live?

The water buffalo has a lifespan of 31.88 years, with a highest reported value of 34.9 years.

### How long is the water buffalo's gestation period?

Gestation lasts 314.8 days, with reported values from 310 to 330 days.

### When does a water buffalo reach sexual maturity?

The water buffalo reaches sexual maturity at 1.5 years (553.5 days).

### Which countries is the water buffalo recorded in?

Checklists record the water buffalo in Australia.

### Who named the water buffalo?

The scientific name Bubalus bubalis carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1758).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/water-buffalo