Water Buffalo family at Tama Zoo consists of three members: the father, Kokichi (7 years old), the mother, Maru (12 years old), and their offspring, Sachi (1 year old). Sachi is a female born on July 18, 2024, and has safely reached her first birthday, growing up healthy and strong.

Her growth rate is very fast; while her father, Kokichi, weighed 152 kg when he arrived at Tama Zoo at the age of 3, Sachi, at 1 year old, has already reached a weight of 285 kg.


Left: Kokichi (father), Front right: Maru (mother), Back right: Sachi (child)
In September 2025, when two people from Yubu Island, who raised Kokichi and Maru, visited the park, they were surprised to see Sachi and exclaimed, "She's big!" Apparently, her mother, Maru, comes from a family known for its large size, and Maru's older brother is the largest male on Yubu Island. They speculated that Sachi inherited those genes, which is why she is so large.
　
However, they said they weren't sure if it would grow as big as its mother. This is because on Yubu Island, female and castrated male oxen pull carts weighing over a ton that carry people, which makes their bones thicker and stronger, builds muscle, and allows them to grow quite large.

Maru pulled ox carts before coming to Tama Zoo, so her already large body grew even bigger. Sachi hasn't had that opportunity, so her growth will likely stop at a certain point. Her father, Kokichi, was also a breeding male and didn't pull ox carts, so he's not very big either. However, males continue to grow even after the age of 10, so it will be interesting to see how big Kokichi, who is currently 7 years old, will get.

Normally on Yubu Island, oxen are fitted with neck and nose straps around 6 months of age while being held still to prevent movement, but Sachi had her neck and nose straps fitted at 1 year old. She had grown quite large to the point where it was deemed dangerous to hold her still, so the straps were fitted under anesthesia. In the future, as she grows, we plan to replace the nose strap with a thicker one, and eventually we hope she will be able to be used as an ox.


The white string is the neck strap, and the orange string is the nose strap.
When attaching the nose strap, Sachi must be separated from her mother, Maru. When her mother was out of sight, Sachi would cry very loudly. Her voice was very similar to that of her father, Kokichi.

Since Kokichi is a breeding male, unlike females or neutered males, his voice doesn't get lower as he grows, but remains high-pitched and sticky. Sachi is still young at one year old, so she sounds just like Kokichi. Sometimes they call back and forth, and Maru occasionally chirps in to interrupt.

Sachi's cries may change as she grows, becoming lower in pitch like her mother, Maru. We look forward to seeing Sachi grow. Please come and see Water Buffalo family at Tama Zoo.


The sound of Water Buffalo calling
[Tama Zoo Tama Zoological Park]

◎Related articles
・ Water Buffalo health management (September 16, 2022)
・ Water Buffalo was born. (July 24, 2024)
・ Growth record of Water Buffalo "Sachi" (November 1, 2024)

(October 31, 2025)