In collector's post on Asian trophies, Nakihunter mentioned that the Indian wild water buffalo was larger than the feral Australian water buffalo. I did not know that this was so. A little internet searching showed it was a fact. There are some tremendous bulls shown on the net.
Also, in this month's Man Magnum magazine is an article by Mark E. Young on hunting India a century ago. It contained this picture:



From the net:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shreeram/4135158798/

What so special about those ? Yes, they are big, but they look just like
they could have come from Australia.

Some huge bulls were taken, the problem is, a lot of the horns were discarded
as they were after the hides and a lot never surface at all - just kept at people's
houses and sometimes never put on people's walls.

The World No 2 (never officially scored but it has been measured) sits in the roof of a Garage in
someone's house and have never been put on a wall.


Big Bulls often get shot before the true potential or full growth has occurred.

The odd one still gets found that has holed up in a canyon or spring area as a lone Solitary bull which grows really huge but as soon as they are seen, that's it.

.

500N
Apparently the wild Indian buffalo is considerably larger. The swamp buffalo of Australia is a feral form of the domesticated water buffalo. Here's some info from the web:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_water_buffalo

"Adult water buffalo range in size from 400 to 900 kg (880 to 2,000 lb) for the domestic water buffalo.[6] In the wild, water buffalo can weigh up to 1,200 kg (2,600 lb), while females are about two-thirds this size.[6] They can stand as tall as 2 m (6 ft 7 in), and stretch up to 3 m (9.8 ft) in body length.[6] The largest recorded horns are just under 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) long.[6]

However, the wild buffalo subspecies found in the Assam state of Northern India, where they inhabit monsoon forests along the foothills of the Himalaya, are notably larger. Here, the average weight of a male adult buffalo is 900 kg (2,000 lb), a bit larger than the female. The average height at the shoulder for a male is about 1.7 metres (5 ft 7 in), and may reach even 2 metres (6 ft 7 in). These wild buffalo, which are of the purest breed in India, are now mostly found in the forests of Kaziranga and Manas national parks, both of which are UNESCO world heritage sites. They have also been known to spread into the northwestern region of the neighboring country, Myanmar."

Pretty impressive spread....amazing !!!

Trophy's from Malaysia .

Very impressive.
Is there still legal hunting in malaysia?

Yes, i am not a poacher !

Very interessting. What species can you hunt.
I meant is there still hunting today. This trophies could be 20years old.

They are !

Just logged on after a fair while. Thanks for the post. Yes this is a very nostalgic subject of the long gone era.

The wild buffalo is known to charge riding elephants in Khaziranga park & also kills forest guards. The wild bulls wreak havoc among domestic stock and kill them. Tigers will take on a gaur but not a wild buffalo.

I am now in India on business for the last 2 weeks. My ailing dad passed away on Sunday & his funeral was yesterday. A true champion of Indian wildlife has passed on. I will truly miss the old stories of hunting tigers & leopards in the 50s with no scope & walking or traveling in bullock carts. I really am fortunate to have a had a dad from whom I got the passion for hunting & for India's wildlife. He was also a man of honour and principles and I am very proud of him.

I will be here for 4 more weeks. Hope to log on more often.

Ashok, sorry for your loss. Your father must have been an incredibly outstanding man.

A trip to Kaziringa Park has made it to my bucket-list. An elephant ride thru those marsh/plains to see the buffalo, guar, and Indian Rhino is something to really look forward to.

quote:

Originally posted by Nakihunter:
My ailing dad passed away on Sunday & his funeral was yesterday.

Very sorry to hear about your loss, my condolence to you and your family.

Thanks you for your kind sentiments Ahmed & Steve. Much appreciated. Today it is 2 months since dad passed on.

His name translates as "King of Lions"!!

Hello Nakihunter

I am sorry to hear about your loss. I know we are losing the people who had seen and enjoyed the golden age of hunting in India. I would have loved to spend time with someone like you dad. Please accept my condolences

Best regards
Aziz