On July 18, 2024, Maru, an 11-year-old Water Buffalo at Tama Zoo gave birth. The calf is female and will be named Sachi. The father is Kokichi, a 6-year-old male.

By the sixth day after birth, Sachi already had her first white teeth, and when we weighed her for the first time, she was 35.9 kg, which was about one-fifteenth of Maru's weight.

Indoors, he would run around Maru while he ate his food. When he went out to the exercise area for the first time that same day, perhaps because it was an unfamiliar place, he stayed close to Maru the whole time and wouldn't leave his side, cautiously sniffing the ground and checking his surroundings as he walked.

However, after about three hours, we could see it running around energetically, as if all fear had vanished. By two weeks old, its horns had also begun to grow.


Sachi on the day she was born (photo taken July 18, 2024)
Around one month old, Sachi began to get used to the playground and seemed to be fine being away from Maru, running around not only around Maru but the entire playground. Maru could be seen watching Sachi with a slightly worried expression and calling out to her with "kuu kuu," but Sachi continued to run around without paying him any mind.

Also, there's a muddy area where Maru and Kokichi always take mud baths, which you can see if you look down from Water Buffalo path. Perhaps having learned from watching Maru's behavior, Sachi has also started putting her legs in the puddles and sitting down to soak in them.

However, we haven't yet seen Sachi in the pool, so we animal keeper are looking forward to seeing when she will finally get in.

Water Buffalo have few sweat glands and regulate their body temperature by taking mud baths and water baths. In addition to regulating body temperature, mud baths also protect their skin from sunlight and have insect-repellent effects. Sachi seems to be gradually learning the behaviors necessary for survival by imitating her mother.


Sachi soaking in a puddle (photographed on July 31, 2024)
Around two months old, Sachi gradually started to eat the same food that Maru was eating.

I feed Maru hay, fresh grass, rolled barley, and branches and leaves of Japanese evergreen oak. Sachi seems to eat the same food as Maru in small amounts, but right now, her favorite foods seem to be Japanese evergreen oak leaves and fresh grass.

Most of the Japanese evergreen oaks (Quercus myrsinaefolia) given to Water Buffalo are grown on the premises. Tama Zoo utilizes its spacious grounds to cultivate these oak trees. animal keeper manage the trees, regularly pruning them to ensure they grow large and produce delicious oak, and then select the tastiest pieces to give to Water Buffalo.


Sachi eating a Japanese evergreen oak leaf (photographed October 2, 2024)
By three months old, its horns were about 6 cm long, and it was gradually eating more of its food, such as oak leaves and green grass. I'm looking forward to seeing how much weight it has gained since its first weighing of 35.9 kg when we do the next weigh-in.

We hope you will continue to warmly watch over Sachi's growth in the future.

[Tama Zoo]

◎Related articles
・ Creating food sources amidst the greenery—planting Japanese evergreen oaks (May 19, 2017)
・ Two Asian Water Buffalo have arrived at the zoo from Yubu Island (Okinawa Prefecture). (May 18, 2021)
・ Planting Japanese evergreen oaks—to provide food for animals (April 1, 2022)
・ Water Buffalo health management (September 16, 2022)
・ Water Buffalo "Maru" and "Kokichi" - Towards giving birth (April 21, 2023)
・ The zoo's secret weapon: what is it that animal keeper are cultivating...? (March 1, 2024)

(November 1, 2024)