Wallowing in Buffalo and summer management

Wallowing has two purposes; the most obvious is that of cooling, the other is protection from insects. Wallowing during day time is done during the hottest hours. Wallowing during night time is instead a way for the animal to protect itself from insects. The buffalo has few sweat glands and a dark skin which makes it difficult for them to maintain their body temperature in hot and humid environments. Wallowing is a very important way for the buffaloes to maintain their body temperature. When buffaloes enter the water, they defecate and/or urinate. This seems to be a way to mark their wallow. Wallowing behavior is a learnt behavior. An animal that has not wallowed from birth with other animals will not do so on its own. Teaching such an animal to wallow is almost impossible for humans. The buffalo has to learn it from other buffaloes, even so, the adult buffalo will be very suspicious and may not wallow by its own choice. If no water or mud hole is available, the buffaloes behave more like cattle. They will seek shade and graze more during the cool hours and less during the hot hours.Amongst different environmental conditions, it is the hot weather that compromises the productive and reproductive performance of livestock species. The plains, coast-line and foot-hill regions of the Indian subcontinent, home to over 90% of the worlds’ buffaloes, experience varied and extreme weather conditions, with temperatures reaching up to 48°C in summers and as low as minus 2°C in winters. The presence of large buffalo population in such diverse climatic conditions indicates that buffaloes are well-adapted to such climatic extremes.