Italian Mediterranean buffalo


The Italian Mediterranean buffalo is an Italian list of [water buffalo breeds|breed] of water buffalo. It is of the river sub-type of water buffalo and is similar to the buffalo breeds of Hungary, Romania, and the Balkan countries. It is the only indigenous water buffalo breed in Italy. A herd-book was opened in 1980, and the breed was officially recognised in 2000.

History

There are conflicting hypotheses concerning the origins of the European water buffalo: one, based on fossil bones found in the valleys of the Elbe and the Rhine, is that it descends from the extinct European wild species Bubalus murrensis; others believe that water buffalo were brought to Europe in Roman times, or in the sixth and seventh centuries by invading peoples such as the Pannonian Avars, or later, by crusaders returning from Mesopotamia. A genomic study in 2020 gave some support to the first hypothesis.
In 1979, a national association of buffalo breeders, the Associazione Nazionale Allevatori Specie Bufalina, was formed, and a genealogical herd-book for the buffalo was opened in the following year. The Italian Mediterranean buffalo breed was officially recognised in 2000.
In 1953, the total number of buffalo in Italy was estimated at head. The numbers of buffalo reported by the Italian [National Institute of Statistics] in 2012 and 2013 were, by region:
Region20122013
Basilicata626430
Calabria778271
Campania
Emilia–Romagna158409
Friuli-Venezia Giulia8039
Lazio
Lombardy
Marche–
Molise745
Piedmont79549
Puglia
Sardinia
Sicily768
Trentino–Alto Adige8–
Tuscany11048
Umbria2920
Veneto895957
Total

The largest numbers are reared in the provinces of Caserta and of Salerno, Campania, followed by those of Frosinone and of Latina, which although in Lazio fall within the area of production of the mozzarella di bufala campana.

Characteristics

The Italian Mediterranean buffalo is black, with dark slate-grey skin and black hooves. White markings may be present on the head, on the lower legs or on the switch of the tail. Total albinism may occur, but is much less common than in the buffaloes of Asia, where the incidence of albinism is in the range.
Bulls commonly stand about at the withers, with a weight of some ; they may reach weights of up to. Sexual dimorphism is less marked in domestic buffalo than in cattle; cows stand about, with weights in the range.

Use

In the past the buffalo was widely used as a draught animal. Buffalo also kept waterways and drainage channels clear of weed, swimming in the deeper parts and wading in the shallows.
The Italian Mediterranean buffalo is now raised and selectively bred principally for the production of the buffalo milk used to make buffalo mozzarella, notably the mozzarella di bufala campana of Campania, which has protected designation of origin status. Other dairy products including burrata, caciotta di bufala, ricotta di bufala, scamorza di bufala, stracchino di bufala, stracciatella di bufala, and yogurt are also made from the milk. Lactation lasts on average 277 days, and usually yields of milk; yields of per lactation are not uncommon, and yields of more than have been recorded. In 2012, a total of of buffalo milk was produced in Italy, about 1.7% of total milk production in that year; the fat content was an average of 7.92%.
Some are butchered, either for fresh meat or for preserved meat products such as bresaola di bufalo. In 2012, a total of 118,653 buffalo were slaughtered in Italy, for a total live weight of, approximately 2.7% of the total weight of bovines slaughtered that year. The average carcass yield was 50.6%.
In the past, the buffalo were left to forage on poor or marshy ground. In the 21st century, management is invariably intensive: the dairy herd may be stabled or kept in an enclosure close to the milking parlour, and is fed a protein- and energy-rich diet. In 2005, the median herd size was approximately 90; by 2023 it had risen to above.