Saving the Pampangan Buffalo from Extinction

Hello steemian friends, all animal lovers, back again with me @gioelewcs this time I am writing about one of the animals that is very great and strong in my opinion, namely the buffalo. following is the review.

There is one endemic fauna in South Sumatra, namely the swamp buffalo, one of the two large groups of buffalo in the world, apart from the river buffalo. The government has recognized the swamp buffalo in South Sumatra as a genetic resource (SDG) for local Indonesian livestock.

This animal with the scientific name Bubalus bubalis, according to its characteristics, likes swimming and diving in peat swamp areas on Bumi Sriwijaya.

Buffaloes whose hobby is playing in the mud are easy to find in Pedamaran, Jawi, Pangkalan Lampam and Pampangan sub-districts in Ogan Komering Ilir (OKI) Regency.

The population can also be found in Tanjung Senai District (Ogan Ilir Regency) and Rambutan District (Banyuasin Regency).

The areas above are the South Sumatra peat basin with a total area of ​​1.2 million hectares. Although it can be found in many places in South Sumatra, this four-legged animal is also known as the Pampangan swamp buffalo. This is because its origins originate from that area.

During the Palembang Sultanate in the early 19th century, a number of buffalo mothers and their herders were imported directly from the Bay of Bengal area. The superior breeds from India were then mated with local buffalo. The Sultanate placed the buffalo in the peat swamp area of ​​Kuro Island which is rich in natural food in the form of green grass.

Threat of Extinction

However, among the various advantages mentioned above, there are several things that pose a threat to its extinction. For example, grazing land is decreasing due to forest and land fires (karhutla), and the opening of oil palm plantations.

As happened in Pedamaran, one of the natural habitats of the Pampangan swamp buffalo. The water-hungry nature of oil palm plantations means that during the dry season peatlands dry out quickly and can easily catch fire.

This condition causes livestock to have difficulty getting their natural food in the form of green grass which grows abundantly around the peat swamp. Because of this, there are quite a few breeders who sell Pampangan swamp buffalo. "Some others were found dead due to lack of food," said Abrar based on research he conducted in 2019.

In just 10 years, the livestock population shrank by 10,000. According to Abrar's records, in 2010 the Pampangan swamp buffalo population numbered 15,000. However, in 2019 only 10,000 individuals remained with the largest number in Pampangan as in situ habitat, namely 5,000 individuals.

Another thing that is quite disturbing the sustainability of this endemic livestock is that the productive age of its broodstock is getting slower because it was discovered that a new broodstock became pregnant at the age of 15 years.

Normally their productive age is around 8-9 years. Local people only use Pampangan swamp buffalo as family savings and have not yet turned it into a productive business.

That's all from me, hopefully it will be additional insight for all of us, greetings, I'm a cute girl @gioelewcs