Why are water buffalo superior draught animals to cattle in Southeast Asian rice paddies?
Answer
Their wide hoof morphology allows for powerful traction without becoming hopelessly stuck in saturated soil.
The fundamental advantage of the water buffalo over standard cattle when working in saturated rice paddies lies in their specialized foot structure. The wide hooves splay out under weight, distributing the force efficiently over a larger area. This feature prevents them from sinking deeply into the thick, saturated soil where a standard cow would easily become bogged down. This superior ability to maintain traction and movement in extremely soft, wet ground makes the buffalo the indispensable tool for farmers preparing fields for planting across many centuries of Asian agriculture.
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