Female water buffalo like to hang with their pals – whatever the truth of opposites attracting may be in some species, it doesn’t extend to these ungulates. At least that’s the conclusion of a study of feral water buffalo that shows they too get by with a little help from their friends.
Most people don’t associate Hong Kong with wild animals, let alone ones as big as water buffalo. However, there’s more to Hong Kong than the densely populated Kowloon. In particular, the island of Lantau, while still hosting a population of 100,000 people, manages to be more than half covered with national parks.
Water buffalo are not native to the area, but they’ve established enough of a presence to be emblematic of the island, and live naturally enough for three scientists at the City University of Hong Kong to study their behavior.
The researchers measured how much time 30 female water buffalo spent close to each other to see if this was random over time, or if they had a preference for the company of certain others. They also looked at the interactions qualitatively, for example, displacing each other from favored spots for wallowing
From these data, they made predictions about how often certain water buffalo would interact, and found them confirmed.
As well as establishing that female water buffalo know who they like, the team observed differences in individuals’ behavior and assessed them for personalities. They found that similarity in personality was a better predictor of who a buffalo would be friends with than being closely related genetically or of the same age.
“Our research provides evidence that friendships among water buffalo can form among individuals with similar behaviors. These findings offer valuable insights into the evolution of friendships,” said study author Dr Debottam Bhattacharjee in a statement.
Unlike what Bhattacharjee found in Japanese macaques, however, the buffalo were not more inclined to be friends with those in similar positions on the dominance hierarchy.
The extent to which friendships influence proximity is particularly obvious in spaces where buffalo could spread out if they wanted to.
Image credit: Dr Debottam Bhattacharjee
The findings are consistent with previous studies conducted among farmed buffalo, which suggested water buffalo are very social animals. Though this sometimes expresses itself in establishing dominance and a pecking order, it can also be seen in more cooperative behaviors.
However, after being led astray by studies of wolves and rats, animal behaviorists are wary of reading too much into how a species acts in unnatural circumstances.
Although feral, the water buffalo have become valued residents of Lantau and the population is keen to look after them. “Understanding social behaviors and friendships of group living animals like buffalo improves welfare with broader implications for maintaining optimal health of those within the wider population,” said study author Professor Kate Flay.
Moreover, an understanding of friendships in other animals can also teach us something about our own, particularly their evolutionary history. “Similar to humans, animal friendships can be stable, long-lasting,” the authors note. A study of female grey kangaroos, for example, found that they spent more time feeding and less watching for predators and were more willing to investigate unfamiliar phenomena when close to friends instead of random members of the mob.
The study is published in iScience.
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