The Indian buffalo roams wild in southeastern Asia and is kept as a domestic animal throughout the warmer parts of the old world. In the wild, the Indian buffalo lives in herds, most often in swampland and grass jungle. A subspecies of Cape buffalo found in dense West African forest is smaller, reddish brown, and has shorter horns.

In summer, the female bears one or two calves, 10 months after conception.

Bold and often savage, it will often charge intruders. Domestic races of the Indian buffalo are kept mainly as draft animals and for milk, butter, and hides. When wounded, the Cape buffalo is regarded as one of the most dangerous animals to man. It has never been domesticated.

Usually grunts and growls. While running they snort. While lazing around and grazing they produce grunts, croaks, bellows and honks.

A massively built, ox like animal, the buffalo is dull black with a sparse coat and large horns that are triangular in cross section. It stands 1.5 metres (5 feet) or more at the shoulder and weighs up to 800 kilograms (1,760 pounds). The horns, which together may be more than 1.2 metres long, curve outward and backward. The African buffalo is similarly massive, black, sparsely haired animal standing up to 1.5 metres at the shoulder; bulls weigh up to about 900 kilograms. Its heavy horns typically curve downward, then up and inward; at their bases, they form large bosses.