Bulls (lat. Bovinae) belong to the subfamily of large vertebrates.In turn, they are divided into several genera, consisting of bulls, buffalo, bison and antelope.The smallest members of the subfamily are Asian water buffalo (lat. Bubalus) Tamaroa and Anoa.It is about them and we'll talk today.
Tamaroa
Tamaroa (Anoa mindorensis) - Philippine dwarf buffalo, unique animals living on the island of Mindoro.It is slightly larger than the size of a sheep.Height bull-midget at the withers - no more than one hundred and twenty centimeters.The neck is thick, the horns are small, triangular, slightly curved back.Color of the body dark brown.Despite its small size, the bull is considered the largest island animals.
Long before the Philippines became a Spanish colony, wild dwarf buffalo Tamaroa was widespread on the islands and posed a serious threat to there the inhabitants.Bull had a great reaction, very fast running, had a great vision and acute hearing.The population has been rather significant, because the locals hunted buffalo dwarf carefully.
reason extinction
With the advent of the islands of the representatives of the civilized world, owning a firearm, the situation with the number of Tamaroa began to deteriorate rapidly.Hunters appreciated and tender and tasty flesh of animals, as well as the skin, from which it produces high-quality suede.Over the past hundred years greatly increased the population of the island of Mindoro, which led to the widening of cultivated areas, where space-little ones bulls almost gone.
Today dwarf buffalo Tamaroa is on the verge of extinction.At the end of the last century, the approximate number of animals was not more than two hundred pieces.Bulls have lived separately and remotely from each other, which did not give them the opportunity to meet during the breeding season.The vast territory of the island does not allow to keep records of the remaining animals.Trying to preserve and increase the number of endangered water buffalo, the world's zoos with great difficulty can get them in an amount desired for breeding in captivity.
Philippine government agencies have approved protected areas for young bulls and imposed a strict ban on their shooting.Despite the measures taken, wealthy tourists still allow themselves to arrange expensive hunting trips, destroying the remnants of the population.
Anoa
dwarf buffalo called Anoa Indonesia (Bubalus depressicornis).It is even smaller than Tamaroa: height at the withers - from sixty to a hundred centimeters.Weight of the largest individual reaches three hundred kilograms.Bull looks Lilliputian resembles a miniature antelope.Not long straight horns are flattened form and sent back a bit.
Main place of its habitat - the island of Sulawesi.Indonesian stunted bulls are divided into two kinds of Anoa: plains and mountains.Adults buffalo living in lowland forest areas, have little wool and covered with sparse hair brown or black shades.The head, neck and legs have white markings.Anoa rarely stray in small flocks, often kept alone or in pairs.Careful animal made a man who for many years mercilessly destroyed young bulls for the valuable meat and skins.
Nutrition and reproduction
Miniature wild buffalo (Sulawesi, as it is called) - a herbivorous animal that feeds on the leaves, young shoots and fruit trees, collecting them on the ground.Plain Anoa inhabit swampy forests of the island.They love to be near the water, especially in hot weather.There buffalo gladly eat aquatic plants, swimming and lying in the mud.Multiply small bulls regardless of the season.Incubation lasts babies less than a year.Calves have a thick golden-brown hair.The average life expectancy of Asian wild ox is no more than twenty years.Unfortunately, in the wild they rarely live long.
Despite the ban, the local population continues to hunt rare animals.From the skins and horns made costumes for ritual events, as well as for sale to tourists.
Features
Compared to lowland animals, mountain dwarf buffalo Anoa is still smaller and lighter.That he belongs among the stunted palm bulls in the world.Wool adults is thick and silky from a young age.The color of the body - from dark brown to black.The stomach has a lighter shade than the back.White spots are absent.Horns small conical slightly bent back.Undersized bulls live in seclusion in the mountain forests of Sulawesi.Due to the remoteness of human access to them is limited and forest buffalo are quieter than their plain counterparts.
exact number of Indonesian Anoa living in the wild is unknown.Recording is done only in the world's zoos.In an effort to keep the population, people are trying to breed animals in captivity.
All dwarf bulls listed in the Red Book of the world as animals, endangered.
