Wildlife in a protected wetland in England is benefiting from the positive impact of a herd of hefty herbivores.
The BBC reported that the wildlife present in Thorley Wash Nature Reserve is getting a helping hoof from a herd of water buffalo.
The buffalo are native to Asia, but are adaptable to various wetlands worldwide. They are hardy creatures who don't exactly have a refined palate; they spend 12 to 16 hours a day grazing on whatever plants they can find.
This makes them an ideal choice for clearing out dense vegetation for other animals, like the endangered water vole, negating the need for heavy machinery.
Dan Townsend, senior reserves officer for the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust charity, noted the important contribution of local volunteers in the project, which began in 2023.
"We really couldn't do this without the support of our fantastic volunteers," he told the BBC.
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Described as "living tractors," the water buffalo was domesticated in Asia thousands of years ago. The domesticated population is vast, over 165 million, while wild water buffalo are much rarer and only found in Bhutan, India, Nepal, and a reserve in Thailand, per the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
Because they're quite sensitive to the heat and prefer to spend much of their time wallowing, they're actually quite well suited to Britain's temperate climate.
They're being used all over the world to restore vital wetland ecosystems that have been lost to drainage and land clearance for agriculture. England has lost around 90% of its wetlands in the last five centuries, according to the U.K. government. The importance of preserving and restoring the few that remain can scarcely be overstated.
In certain locales, a smaller mammal is performing similar work. Goatscaping is another way of clearing vegetation by just letting the animals chow down. Natural, low-tech solutions can play a key role in local efforts to protect and restore critical ecosystems.
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Sara King, an ecologist at Rewilding Britain, explained to the BBC the impact water buffalo can have on an area as conservation grazers: "They create this mosaic of open areas through their grazing … so it really does bring back quite a lot of life."
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