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The other site has some information about these Asian water buffalo.

In 1975, researchers at the University of Florida thought water buffalo might be the answer to an aquatic weed problem. They were able to import just four animals from a Canadian game park to test this idea, and they were inspired by the adaptability and strength of these animals. This small but determined group in Florida then managed to get Smithsonian magazine to print an article in 1976, titled “Why Not a Tractor that Provides Meat, Cheese – and Love?” The response to the article was enthusiastic, and it drew the attention of A.P. Leonards, who was to become one of the major forces in water buffalo importation.

With great persistence, he imported 53 Swamp Buffalo from Guam and then 96 River Buffalo from Trinidad. In 1984, Leonards sent a few animals to Berry College to establish a herd there, and the American Water Buffalo Association was founded there in 1986. Since then their numbers have grown to 5,000 to 7,000.