The feral water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)
Invasive species fact sheet
Department of the Environment and Heritage, 2004
PDF file
About the fact sheet
Water buffalos were imported to Australia in the 19th century to supply meat to remote northern settlements. The settlements and their buffalos were abandoned in 1949 and, despite harvesting for meat, hides and as hunters' trophies, feral buffalos spread across the northern floodplains. By the 1970s, feral buffalo numbers were so high that they were destroying wetlands and harbouring diseases that could affect native species and livestock. The Brucellosis and Tuberculosis Eradication Campaign, developed to protect the meat export industry, has all but eradicated feral buffalos from the wild. The challenge will be to ensure that feral buffalo populations do not rebuild.
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