154 ZOOLOGY. [PART II. 



The Buffalo. Buffaloes abound in all parts of 

 Ceylon, but they are only to be seen in their native 

 wildness in the vast solitudes of the northern and eastern 

 provinces, where rivers, lagoons, and dilapidated tanks 

 abound. In these they delight to immerse themselves, 

 till only their heads appear above the surface ; or, 

 enveloped in mud to protect themselves from the assaults 

 of insects, luxuriate in the long sedges by the water 

 margins. When the buffalo is browsing, a crow will 

 frequently be seen stationed on his back, engaged in 

 freeing it from the ticks and other pests which attach 

 themselves to his leathery hide, the smooth brown sur- 

 face of which, unprotected by hair, shines with an un- 

 pleasant polish in the sunlight. When in motion he 

 throws back his clumsy head till the huge horns rest 

 on his shoulders, and the nose is presented in a line 

 with the eyes. 



The temper of the wild buffalo is morose and uncertain, 

 and such is its strength and courage that in the Hindu 

 epic of the Eamayana its onslaught is compared to that 

 of the tiger. 1 It is never quite safe to approach them, 

 if disturbed in their pasture or alarmed from their repose 

 in the shallow lakes. On such occasions they hurry into 

 line, draw up in defensive array, with a few of the 

 oldest bulls in advance ; and, wheeling in circles, 

 their horns clashing with a loud sound as they clank 

 them together in their rapid evolutions, they prepare for 

 attack ; but generally, after a menacing display the herd 

 betakes itself to flight. Then forming again at a safer dis- 

 tance, they halt as before, elevating their nostrils, and 

 throwing back their heads to take a defiant survey of the 

 intruders. The sportsman rarely molests them, so huge 

 a creature affording no worthy mark for his skill, and 

 their wanton slaughter adding nothing to the supply of 

 food for the assailant. 



In the Hambangtotte country, where the Singhalese 

 domesticate the buffaloes, and use them to assist in the 



CAKEY and MAKSHMAN'S Transl. vol. i. p. 430, 447. 



