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Animal Info - Anoa
(Other Names:
低地矮水牛, 短角水牛, アノア,
Anoa de Ilanura, Anoa des Plaines, Búfalo
das Planícies, Gemsbüffel, Lowland Anoa, Tieflandanoa)
Bubalus depressicornis (Anoa d.)
Contents
1. Profile (Picture)
2. Tidbits
3. Status and Trends (IUCN Status, Countries Where
Currently Found, Population Estimates, History of Distribution, Threats and Reasons
for Decline)
4. Data on Biology and Ecology (Weight, Habitat, Age to Maturity, Gestation
Period, Birth Season, Birth Rate, Early Development, Maximum Age, Diet, Behavior, Social
Organization)
5. References
Profile
Pictures:
Anoa #1 and Anoa #2 (15
Kb JPEG) (Huffman 2004)
The anoa is a miniature water buffalo, a type of wild cattle, similar in
appearance to a deer, weighing 150 - 300 kg (330 - 660 lb). It lives in undisturbed forest
and eats grass, herbs, leaves, fruit and marsh and aquatic plants. The anoa feeds in the
morning and rests in the shade during the hottest parts of the day. One young is born at a
time. Anoas live alone or in pairs, rather than herds, except when the cows are about to
give birth.
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 (Celebes), Indonesia where it was once common. 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. It is currently endangered.
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.
Tidbits
*** "Anoa" is the Sulawesi word for "buffalo".
*** Anoas are unusual among the wild cattle of Southeast Asia, because they are one of
the few to depend mainly on undisturbed forest.
Status and Trends
- 1960's - 1994: Endangered
- 1996 - 2004: Endangered (Criteria: C1+2a) (Population Trend: Decreasing)
(IUCN
2004)
Countries Where the Anoa Is Currently Found:
2004: Found on the island of Sulawesi (= Celebes) (Indonesia)
(IUCN 2004).
Population Estimates:
[Note: Figures given are for wild populations only.]
- WORLD
- 2004: Unlikely to be more than 3000 - 5000 animals (IUCN
2004)
History of Distribution:
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 (Celebes), Indonesia 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. It has continued to decline from 1980 - 2000, precipitously in some
areas (IUCN 2003a).
Threats and Reasons for Decline:
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.
Data on Biology and Ecology
The anoa weighs 150 - 300 kg (330 - 660 lb).
Habitat:
The anoa is found in undisturbed, moist, dense forest.
The anoa is one of the species that live in both the Wallacea
Biodiversity
Hotspot (Cons.
Intl. 2005) and the Sulawesi Moist Forests Global 200 Ecoregion. (Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein 1999)
Age to Maturity:
2 - 3 years.
275 - 315 days.
Birth Season:
There is apparently no specific birth season.
Birth Rate:
1 young is born at a time.
Early Development:
Weaning is reported to occur at 6 - 9 months.
Maximum Age:
One anoa lived to 28 years in captivity.
Diet:
The anoa eats grass, herbs, leaves, fruit and marsh and aquatic plants.
Behavior:
The anoa feeds in the morning and rests in the shade during the hottest parts of the
day.
Social Organization:
Anoas live alone or in pairs, rather than herds, except when the cows are about to give
birth.
References
Burton & Pearson 1987, Cons.
Intl. 2005, Curry-Lindahl 1972, Huffman
1999a, Huffman 2004, IUCN 1966, IUCN 1994,
IUCN 1996, IUCN 2000,
IUCN 2003a, IUCN
2004, Macdonald 1984, MacKinnon 1979, Melisch 1995, Nowak
& Paradiso 1983, Olson &
Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein
1999
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Last modified: March 5, 2005;
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