Carabao buffalo

For other uses, see Carabao buffalo (disambiguation).

Philippine Carabao & Calf.

The Philippine Water buffalo are well adapted to a hot and humid climate. Water availability is of high importance in hot climates since they need wallows, rivers, or splashing water to reduce the heat load and thermal stress. Swamp buffaloes prefer to wallow in a mudhole that they make with the horns. Their objective is to acquire a thick coating of mud. They thrive on many aquatic plants and in time of flood will graze submerged, raising their heads above the water and carrying quantities of edible plants. They eat reeds, the giant reed, bulrush, sedges, the common water hyacinth, and rushes. Green fodders are used widely for intensive milk production and for fattening. Many fodder crops are conserved as hay, chaffed, or pulped. Trials in the Philippines showed that the carabao, on poor-quality roughage, had a better feed conversion rate than cattle.

The carabao cools itself by lying in a waterhole or mud during the heat of the day. Mud, caked on to its body, also protects it from bothersome insects. The carabao feeds mainly in the cool of the mornings and evenings. Its lifespan is 18 to 20 years. The female carabao can deliver one calf each year. It's an important symbol of Filipino culture and it's agriculture, known for its strength and contribution to farming to the nation, therefore have nominated the Carabao buffalo as the National animal of the Philippines.. Despite the popular notion that the carabao has been declared the national animal of the Philippines, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines has stated that this has no basis in Philippine law.

Carabao racing

Carabao racing at the fiesta of Aliaga Nueva Ecija.

Carabao race in Pulilan, Bulacan, Philippines. This picture was taken around the time of the Carabao Festival honoring the patron San Isidro Labrador.

Carabao racing is a widely popular sport among farmers and carabao enthusiasts in the Philippines. In central, southern Luzon and South Cotabato some fiestas are highlighted with carabaos racing up towards the finish line. Training and conditioning of the race carabao to its full extent is a serious job. Farmers and their trustworthy carabaos gather together to race in a 500 metres (1,600 ft) dirt road. Spectators fill up this unique spectacle, some betting on their best carabaos, others watch for the thrill. The carabaos, geared with their carts on their back, race together with their farmer to win prizes. The race is divided into two classes, one for amateur or first-time carabao racers and the other is for the veteran carabao racers. A race carabao can be bought for ₱35,000 to ₱60,000, with the price increasing with the number of races that it wins. Proven race winners can command a price as high as ₱200,000.

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  An illustration from the Carta Hydrographica y Chorographica de las Yslas Filipinas (1734) shows carabaos as beasts of burden

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  Carabao cart in the Philippines (c. 1899)

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  The hardened hide of a carabao (left) and a cow (right), displayed in the Crisologo Museum, in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, Philippines

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  A carabao in the Banaue Rice Terraces

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  An albino carabao

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  Ploughing using a carabao in the Philippines, circa pre-1935

See also

• Tamaraw
• Philippine Carabao Center
• Military Order of the Carabao

References

Template:Water buffalo breeds

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