I am just curious, I have the possibility to offer, amongst other European game, buffalo.
They are a buffalo whose origin seems unclear, the Romans may have imported them 2000 years ago, since then they have been used for milk prodction in the south, and I may be able to get some old bulls here that have turned nasty and are no longer used for breeding.

These animals look like a cross between a water buffalo and a cae buffalo, and are quite nasty customers. The hunting would be in a 600 acre bush block.

I don't want this to turn into a thread bashing penned or canned hunts, so please refrain from pointing out the obvious (that they are not cape buffalo roaming Africa)

Does anyone here believe these animals could create any interest?

Express

I'm not to far away from Italy here in Austria.
Where in Italy would that be? Prices for such a "hunt"?

Could be a nice short training exercise for me an my 416 Rigby....

Franz

Do an Internet Search on Mozzarella Cheese and you'll know as much as anyone else about Mediteranean buffalo.

I have, but I could not find out what their exact provinience was, nor could I get a scientific name for them.

I always thought they are a straight Asian Water Buffalo.

As I imagine they would have in-bred without any new blood, perhaps some inter-breeding with oxen or European cattle of some sort.

They look pretty much like an Asian Water buff as well eg the sort from South East Asia - Thailand for example, without the big sweeping horns of the NT buff. From the photos at least.

[ 04-28-2003, 18:15: Message edited by: NitroX ]

Express,

I hunted these Buffalo in Argentina last September and it was a super hunting experience.
They are big and tough animals and make a beautiful addition to any trophy room. They are quite warry and very hard to approach in the open grasslands.

Hawkeye47

Ditto Hawkeye's comments about hunting them in Argentina. My advice is use plenty of gun and followup and then followup again.

I've seen pictures of water buffalo wearing blankets because of the cold in Eastern Europe. I doubt that the Romans were the importers, more likely it was the Moors when they ruled southern Italy. They would have had direct contact with the Mogul Emperors in India through the Moslem trade routes of the time. This would have happened over a thousand years ago but not back in the Classical Era.

Quote:

The water buffalo has been associated with man from the earliest prehistoric times. Although the water buffalo was originally an Asian animal, it arrived early (about 600 A.D.) in the Near East and North Africa. It was introduced to Europe by crusaders returning in the Middle Ages and outstanding herds still exist in Italy and Bulgaria. In recent times, the water buffalo has prospered in South and Central America.