Sulawesi - GIS

This native Sulawesi species, Anoa (means buffalo in local language) is perhaps one of most endangered species that has not yet studied intensively. It is a miniature water buffalo, a type of wild cattle, similar in appearance to a deer, weighing 150 - 300 kg (330 - 660 lb). The thick black hide is covered with short, dark brown hair, with males tending to be darker than females. The undersides may be light brown. There are white markings on the head and lower legs, and a white crescent-shaped throat bib. Stout limbs support the plump body. The short, triangular-based horns are found in both sexes and are flattened along the top. They begin at the edge of the forehead and point diagonally backwards, growing 18-37 cm / 7-14.5 inches in length.

Lowland anoas belong to the family Bovidae, which includes about 23 species of cattle and spiral-horned antelopes. They also belong to the subfamily Bovinae that includes about 24 species of cattle. The lowland anoa belongs to the genus Bubalus, which includes four species: lowland anoa (Bubalus depressicornis), mountain anoa (Bubalus quarlesi), wild water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) and tamarau (Bubalus mindorensis).

It lives in undisturbed shaded, swampy, lowland forest and mostly found solitary (except during breeding and having baby). Anoas frequently wallow in mud and water. They have been seen drinking seawater which might fulfill their mineral needs in areas that do not have salt licks or mineral spring water. Their diets are grass, herbs, leaves, fruit and marsh and aquatic plants.

There is no record about their breeding season, but females and males sexually mature at about age 2. The gestation period lasts from 275 to 315 days. When calving time nears, females will go off alone. Usually in a year one offspring is born and rarely twins. The calf has thick, bright rufous-orange, woolly hair.

Anoas feed during the morning, resting in shade through the hottest parts of the day. The preferred gait is a walk, though when fleeing, they are known to make clumsy leaps. Their bodies are very efficient at crashing through the forest undergrowth, with the short horns being held close to the back in order to avoid being tangled. However, if cornered or approached within a critical distance, anoas will turn and attack violently.

The anoa is considered very excitable and dangerous to its opponents (and also very aggressive towards human), as its sharp horns can be used as daggers. This is especially true for young bulls in the breeding season, and females with young. Several anoa fatalities in zoos have resulted from attempts to keep these solitary animals in pairs or groups, with the larger animals disemboweling their counterparts with their horns. In wild life, their enemy mostly is human. Occasionally a python (Python reticulatus or Python molurus) or an endemic civet (Macrogalidia musschembroekii) will prey upon an infant anoa.

Because of increasing human population and the spread of cultivation, by the 1890's, the anoa had already begun to abandon the coastal areas of Sulawesi where it was once common. However, it was still widely distributed throughout northern Sulawesi in 1900. In 1937 it was still fairly common in the forested areas in Gorontalo, northern Sulawesi. Subsequently, increasing cultivation caused it to abandon the lowlands and retreat to remote mountainous areas. By 1966 a major decline had occurred, and it was found only sporadically as a severely threatened remnant in the undisturbed, swampy forests of northern Sulawesi. As of 1979, the anoa had declined significantly or disappeared altogether near many towns and villages (where it was heavily hunted), but healthy populations still occurred in large forest blocks.

Reasons for the anoa's decline include hunting for hide, horns and meat (it was rarely hunted by natives before the introduction of modern firearms); killing by the military; and the expansion of settlement, which has caused the anoas to retreat to more remote forest areas due to loss of habitat (e.g. due to draining of marshland) and to avoid human activity. The wild number of anoas is unknown. As of 1995, 110 anoas were in captivity. Unfortunately, anoas are not easy to breed in captivity. Inbred captive anoas are a problem and zoos work to diversify the gene pool.

Anoas have been legally protected in Indonesia since 1931. There are a number of protected areas on the island of Sulawesi, many of which are believed to contain anoas. However, these areas are not all well managed and the level of protection accorded to their wildlife is uncertain.

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