Wild water buffalo
Bubalus arnee (Kerr, 1792)
The wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee) is a mammal of the family Bovidae, subfamily Bovinae and tribe Bovini, in the order Artiodactyla. It is listed as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List in a global assessment, which is an IUCN threatened category.
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Quick facts about the wild water buffalo
Its habitats are desert and grassland. Other English names for it include water buffalo, Asian buffalo, Indian buffalo, Asiatic buffalo and Asian wild buffalo.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- desert, grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the wild water buffalo
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the wild water buffalo live?
Not recorded
What is the wild water buffalo?
The wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee), also called Asian buffalo, Asiatic buffalo and wild buffalo, is a large bovine native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It was first described in 1792.
The wild water buffalo is the most likely ancestor of the domestic water buffalo. It has been listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 1986, as the global population totals less than 4,000 mature individuals.
From the Wikipedia article “Wild water buffalo” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wild_water_buffalo&oldid=1384684609), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the wild water buffalo endangered?
The wild water buffalo is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Endangered species. What the categories mean.
How is the wild water buffalo classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderArtiodactyla
- familyBovidae
- genusBubalus
- SpeciesBubalus arnee (Kerr, 1792)
Synonyms Bos arnee, Bos arni, Bubalus arna, Bubalus arna var. macrocerus, Bubalus bubalus septentrionalis
Other names and names in other languages (59)
- Asian buffaloEnglish
- Asian buffaloEnglish
- Asian wild buffaloEnglish
- Asiatic buffaloEnglish
- Asiatic buffaloEnglish
- Indian buffaloEnglish
- Indian buffaloEnglish
- Indian water buffaloEnglish
- Indian water buffaloEnglish
- Water buffaloEnglish
- Water buffaloEnglish
- Wild Asian buffaloEnglish
- Wild Asian buffaloEnglish
- Indiese BuffelAfrikaans
- جاموس هنديArabic
- جاموس اسيويArabic
- جاموس الماء البريArabic
- বনৰীয়া ম’হAssamese
- বন্য মহিষBangla
- Asiatisk vandbøffelDanish
- WasserbüffelGerman
- Asiatischer WasserbüffelGerman
- Bufalo ArniSpanish
- Búfalo arniSpanish
- Buffle d'EauFrench
- Buffle d'IndeFrench
- Buffle de l'IndeFrench
- ArnaHindi
- वन भैंसHindi
- ArniHindi
- vad vízibivalyHungarian
- Bufalo asiaticoItalian
- Bufalo asiatico selvaticoItalian
- Bufalo d'acqua selvaticoItalian
- 야생물소Korean
- 아시아물소Korean
- पाणम्हैसMarathi
- जंगली म्हैसMarathi
- Taw-kyweBurmese
- VannbøffelNorwegian Bokmål
- Asiatisk BøffelNorwegian Bokmål
- Indisk BøffelNorwegian Bokmål
- Wilde WaterbuffelDutch
- ଅରଣା ମଇଁଷିOdia
- Arni azjatyckiPolish
- Búfalo-asiáticoPortuguese
- Дикий азиатский буйволRussian
- කුළු මී හරකාSinhala
- Byvol arniSlovak
- Asiatisk buffelSwedish
- ควายป่าThai
- Yabani Hint MandasıTurkish
- Буйвіл водяний дикийUkrainian
- Буйвіл азійський дикийUkrainian
- Буйвіл індійський дикийUkrainian
- TrauVietnamese
- Trâu rừngVietnamese
- 河水牛Chinese
- 野水牛Chinese
Relatives of the wild water buffalo
Other species in the same genus Bubalus.
Water buffalo
Bubalus bubalis
Tamaraw
Bubalus mindorensis
Lowland anoa
Bubalus depressicornis
Short-horned water buffalo
Bubalus mephistopheles
CompareWild water buffalo vs Water buffaloWild water buffalo vs TamarawWild water buffalo vs Lowland anoaWild water buffalo vs Short-horned water buffalo
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the wild water buffalo?
The wild water buffalo is a mammal in the family Bovidae, part of the order Artiodactyla.
What is the scientific name of the wild water buffalo?
Its scientific name is Bubalus arnee, in the genus Bubalus.
Is the wild water buffalo endangered?
Yes. It is listed as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List in a global assessment, an IUCN threatened category.
What habitats does the wild water buffalo live in?
Its habitats are desert and grassland.
Is the wild water buffalo extinct?
No. The Catalogue of Life lists it as living, not extinct.
What other names does the wild water buffalo have?
It is also called water buffalo, Asian buffalo, Indian buffalo, Asiatic buffalo and Asian wild buffalo.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · 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 · 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). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · 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).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/wild-water-buffalo
“Wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/wild-water-buffalo.
@misc{wild_water_buffalo_2026,
title = {Wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/wild-water-buffalo},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}