Similarities and Differences between River Buffaloes and Cattle: Health, Physiological, Behavioral and Productivity Aspects

Abstract

The river buffalo is an emerging production species worldwide; indeed, it is overtaking other cattle as a producer of meat and milk in some countries. Though both species belong to the Bovidae family, they show significant anatomical, physiological, and behavioral differences due to their different phylogenetic positions. The river buffalo is a rustic animal that can benefit from low-quality, fibrous forages due to its digestive system, in contrast to beef cattle or dairy cows. Besides, the buffalo cow's reproductive apparatus has fewer cervical muscle rings and a shorter vagina and cervix. This species has maintained its seasonal breeding pattern, also in contrast to Bos indicus and Bos taurus. Even though buffaloes have an inefficient thermoregulating system, scarce hair, and a thicker epidermis, they are more resistant to tropical weather conditions if water for wallowing is available than dairy cows, which in turn adapt better to temperate zones. Due to the morphology of the river buffalo's mammary glands, they produce less milk, while their conical teats with narrower sphincters decrease predisposition to mastitis compared to dairy cows. Thus, the study of the anatomical and physiological differences among river buffalo, Bos Taurus, and Bos Indicus will allow the implementation of strategies to improve the former's productivity while also increasing welfare levels according to the production system in which they are raised.

Clinical Applications and Factors Involved in Validating Thermal Windows Used in Infrared Thermography in Cattle and River Buffalo to Assess Health and Productivity

“…Future studies of the use of thermal windows, peripheral thermoregulation, and body heat production in cattle and the river buffalo should adopt a comparative focus to contemplate the anatomical and physiological differences between these two species [ 124 ]. The goals are to adopt these techniques in production units practically and achieve a more objective interpretation of the readings they provide.…”

Infrared thermal imaging associated with pain in laboratory animals

“…While such methods can be useful for obtaining readings over long intervals, they are invasive and, therefore, have the potential to affect the behavior and physiology of the animals by altering temperature measurements and/or requiring a surgical procedure before use [23]. In this sense, IRT provides an option that is noninvasive because it consists of detecting the intensity of infrared radiation that, as we know, correlates directly with the distribution of temperature in a defined region of the body [24,25,26]. IRT converts this infrared radiation into digital images that can be interpreted as a function of color and a numerical scale [18].…”

River Buffalo Meat Production and Quality: Sustainability, Productivity, Nutritional and Sensory Properties

“…A progressive process of intensification of buffalo farming is currently occurring due to a growing economic interest for this species [17,18,41,42]. As buffaloes often replace cattle in intensive farms, they are handled following the same or similar management routines.…”

“…The present study focuses on river buffalo, unless differently specified. Some of the positive aspects of buffaloes are their resistance to disease, adaptation to different climatic conditions, ability to digest poor quality grasses, and still express a satisfactory growth rate, which makes these animals versatile [13][14][15][16][17][18]. Thus, although buffaloes are already raised for meat production in several countries, they could potentially be farmed much more widely to provide more meat products for human consumption [4].…”