Talk of The Villages Florida - Villager spots Water Buffalo roaming on her street in Village of Chatham.

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Villager spots Water Buffalo roaming on her street in Village of Chatham.

"Villager spots Water Buffalo roaming on her street in Village of Chatham".

From the site that must not be named. It actually looks like an American Bison. They used to have quite a lot of them near Sumter Landing. We sometimes would take some carrots to feed them back a number of years ago.

Don't think so. American bison have huge, woolly heads. This looks exactly like a water buffalo, which is not a native species as far as I know. It's Asian/African. So, why is it living here? Is this part of the beef industry or an exotic pet? The "other" news fails to tell us. Someone must know.

**************/Karen-Sherman-shot-this-photo-of-a-Water-Buffalo-roaming-on-her-street.

Attachment 62835

horns too long for bison. :MOJE_whot:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taltarzac725 (Post 1303293)

There were signs posted that warned people not to feed the buffalo at Lake Sumter. People did feed them. People tried petting them and having their grandkids pet them. The Developer had to get rid of the buffalo after being sued by the rule breakers who got injured by the buffalo.

The animal in the picture is an Asian water buffalo. They belong to a farmer in back of the Alamanda golf course.

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

Quote:

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.