Water Buffalo in the US

wtw

Back in the 1860's the US was offered elephants from Siam for our use. We kindly refused, now what if some one told Lincoln or another presidents about water buffalo and how useful they are in wetlands? Keep in mind there are at least 5,000 water buffalo in the US now.


Also is there any way to get Yaks into the US before 1900?
 

SeaCambrian

Interesting idea. What parts of the United States could water buffalo survive in? Only Florida, Louisiana, and similar climates of the Southeast?
 

Byzantion

wtw said:
Back in the 1860's the US was offered elephants from Siam for our use. We kindly refused, now what if some one told Lincoln or another presidents about water buffalo and how useful they are in wetlands? Keep in mind there are at least 5,000 water buffalo in the US now.


Also is there any way to get Yaks into the US before 1900?
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Maybe Ted Roosevelt refreshes the offer and introduces them in the American South. Also Hippos.He had been a Safari fan after all, maybe he thinks for himself, that he doesn' t need to travel that far anyanymore to hunt.
 

Daedalus

Byzantion said:
Maybe Ted Roosevelt refreshes the offer and introduces them in the American South. Also Hippos.He had been a Safari fan after all, maybe he thinks for himself, that he doesn' t need to travel that far anyanymore to hunt.
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Water buffalo is a domesticated animal though, usually used as a pack animal or to plow fields. It wouldn't make sense to use them for a "safari in the states". And unlike the useful water buffalo, hippos don't do anything particularly useful and are a bigger threat to people than crocodiles in Africa, so there would be no point in bringing them over other than whimsy and extravagance.

That said, bringing herds over might be useful for the Italian immigrants. Mozzarella is traditionally made with water buffalo milk (albeit with the Mediterranean breed, specifically bred for dairy) and they could create a thriving local industry of mozzarella di bufala in the States.
 

Madhukar_Shah

If water buffalo were introduced early enough to central California, could it take the agriculture of the region into a type less dependent on irrigation and thus allow lake Tulare to survive or something?
 

Escape Zeppelin

They'd probably do very well in Florida as an alternative or supplement to cattle. I easily can see someone in the late 19th or early 20th importing them as part of a scheme to make the Everglades and southern Florida more productive.
 
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