Bupatus. AQ 
The buffalo never ascends mountains like the bison, but keeps to- 
low and swampy ground and open grass plains, living in large herds,. 
which occasionally split up into smaller ones during the breeding season 
in autumn. The female produces one, or sometimes two in the summer, 
after a period of gestation of ten months. 
Forsyth doubts their interbreeding with the domestic race, but I see 
no reason for this. The two are identically the same, and numerous. 
instances have been known of the latter joining herds of their wild 
brethren ; and I have known cases of the domestic animal absconding 
from a herd and running wild. Such a one was shot by a friend of 
mine in a jungle many miles from the haunts of men, but yet quite out 
of the range of the wild animal. Probably it had been driven from a 
herd. Domestic buffalo bulls are much used in the Central provinces. 
for carrying purposes. I had them yearly whilst in camp, and noticed 
that one old bull lorded it over the others, who stood in great awe of 
him ; at last one day there was a great uproar ; three younger animals 
combined, and gave him such a thrashing that he never held up his. 
head again. Ina feral state he would doubtless have left the herd and 
become a solitary wanderer. Dr. Jerdon, in his ‘Mammals of India,’ 
says: “Mr. Blyth states it as his opinion that, except in the valley of 
the Ganges and Burrampooter, it has been introduced and become feral. 
With this view I cannot agree, and had Mr. Blyth seen the huge 
buffalos I saw on the Indrawutty river (in 1857), he would, I think, 
have changed his opinion. They have hitherto not been recorded’ 
south of Raepore, but where I saw them is nearly 200 miles south. I 
doubt if they cross the Godavery river. 
‘“‘T have seen them repeatedly, and killed several in the Purneah 
district. Here they frequent the immense tracts of long grass abound- 
ing in dense, swampy thickets, bristling with canes and wild roses; and 
in these’spots, or in the long elephant-grass on the bank of jheels, the 
buffalos lie during the heat of the day. They feed chiefly at night or 
early in the morning, often making sad havoc in the fields, and retire 
in general before the sun is high. They are by no means shy (unless. 
they have been much hunted), and even on an elephant, without which 
they could not be successfully hunted, may often be approached within 
good shooting distance. A wounded one will occasionally charge the 
elephant, and, as I have heard from many sportsmen, will sometimes 
overthrow the elephant. I have been charged by a small herd, but a 
shot or two as they are advancing will usually scatter them.” 
The buffalo is, I should say, a courageous animal—at least it shows. 
itself so in the domesticated state. A number of them together will not. 
hesitate to charge a tiger, for which purpose they are often used to 
drive a wounded tiger out of cover. A herdsman was once seized by 
aman-eater one afternoon a few hundred yards from my tent. His. 
