Italian Mediterranean buffalo

The Italian Mediterranean buffalo or bufala mediterranea italiana is an Italian breed of water buffalo. It is of the River sub-type of water buffalo and is similar to the buffalo breeds of Hungary, Romania and the Balkan countries. It is the only indigenous water buffalo breed in Italy. A herd-book was opened in 1980, and the breed was officially recognised in 2000.

History
There are conflicting hypotheses concerning the origins of the European water buffalo: one, based on fossil bones found in the valleys of the Elbe and the Rhine, is that it descends from the extinct European wild species Bubalus murrensis; others believe that water buffalo were brought to Europe in the sixth and seventh centuries by invading peoples such as the Pannonian Avars, or later, by crusaders returning from Mesopotamia. A genomic study by Noce et al. has since lent partial support to both hypotheses, demonstrating that European water buffalo are both genetically connected to other river type buffalo breeds and genetically unique and diverse, suggesting a partially autochtonous origin.

The buffalo may have been introduced into Italy in Roman times, or during the Barbarian invasions of the Italian peninsula.

In 1979 a national association of buffalo breeders, the Associazione Nazionale Allevatori Specie Bufalina, was formed, and a genealogical herd-book for the buffalo was opened in the following year. The mediterranea italiana breed was officially recognised in 2000.

In 1953 the total number of buffalo in Italy was estimated at 40,000 head. The numbers of buffalo reported by the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica in 2012 and 2013 were, by region:

Characteristics
The mediterranea italiana is black, with dark slate-grey skin and black hooves. White markings may be present on the head, on the lower legs or on the switch of the tail. Total albinism may occur, but is much less common than in the buffaloes of Asia, where the incidence of albinism is in the range $260,153$.

Bulls commonly stand about 143 cm at the withers, with a weight of some 500-600 kg; they may reach weights of up to $266,236$. Sexual dimorphism is less marked in domestic buffalo than in cattle; cows stand about 138 cm, with weights in the range 300-450 kg.

Use
In the past the buffalo was widely used as a draught animal. Buffalo also kept waterways and drainage channels clear of weed, swimming in the deeper parts and wading in the shallows.

The mediterranea italiana is now raised and selectively bred principally for the production of the buffalo milk used to make buffalo mozzarella, notably the Mozzarella di Bufala Campana of Campania, which has Denominazione di origine protetta (DOP) status. Other dairy products including burrata, caciotta di bufala, ricotta di bufala, scamorza di bufala, stracchino di bufala, stracciatella di bufala and yoghurt are also made from the milk. Lactation lasts on average 277 days, and usually yields 1600-1800 kg of milk; yields of 2000-3000 kg per lactation are not uncommon. In 2012 a total of 192455300 kg of buffalo milk was produced in Italy, about 1.7% of total milk production in that year; the fat content was an average of 7.92%.

Some are butchered, either for fresh meat or for preserved meat products such as bresaola di bufalo. In 2012 a total of 118,653 buffalo were slaughtered in Italy, for a total live weight of 47416700 kg, approximately 2.7% of the total weight of bovines slaughtered that year. The average carcass yield was 50.6%.