<P> During the 1970s, small herds were imported to Costa Rica, Ecuador, Cayenne, Panama, Surinam, Guyana, and Venezuela . </P> <P> In Argentina, many game ranches raise water buffalo for commercial hunting . </P> <P> In 1974, four water buffalo were imported to the United States from Guam to be studied at the University of Florida . In February 1978, the first herd arrived for commercial farming . Until 2002, only one commercial breeder was in the United States . Water buffalo meat is imported from Australia . Until 2011, water buffalo were raised in Gainesville, Florida, from young obtained from zoo overflow . They were used primarily for meat production, frequently sold as hamburger . Other US ranchers use them for production of high - quality mozzarella cheese . </P> <P> The husbandry system of water buffalo depends on the purpose for which they are bred and maintained . Most of them are kept by people who work on small farms in family units . Their buffalo live in very close association with them, and are often their greatest capital asset . The women and girls in India generally look after the milking buffalo while the men and boys are concerned with the working animals . Throughout Asia, they are commonly tended by children who are often seen leading or riding their charges to wallowing places . Water buffalo are the ideal animals for work in the deep mud of paddy fields because of their large hooves and flexible foot joints . They are often referred to as "the living tractor of the East". It probably is possible to plough deeper with buffalo than with either oxen or horses . They are the most efficient and economical means of cultivation of small fields . In most rice - producing countries, they are used for threshing and for transporting the sheaves during the rice harvest . They provide power for oilseed mills, sugarcane presses, and devices for raising water . They are widely used as pack animals, and in India and Pakistan also for heavy haulage . In their invasions of Europe, the Turks used buffalo for hauling heavy battering rams . Their dung is used as a fertilizer, and as a fuel when dried . </P>

Where do water buffalo live in the united states
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