Murrah buffalo

Indian breed of water buffalo

The Murrah buffalo is a breed of water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) mainly kept for milk production. It originates in Haryana and Punjab of India, where it is kept in the districts of Bhiwani, Agra, Hisar, Rohtak, Jind, Jhajhar, Fatehabad, Gurgaon and the capital region of Delhi. It has been used to improve the milk production of dairy buffalo in other countries, such as Italy, Bulgaria and Egypt. A Murrah buffalo at the Lakshmi Dairy Farm in Punjab set a record of of milk in the 2016 National Livestock Competition and Expo. In Brazil, this breed of buffalo is used for production of both meat and milk. Murrahs sell for a high price. Among Indian buffalo breeds, Murrah is noted to have the highest milk yield.

Murrah buffaloes are jet black in colour, sometimes with white markings on the face or legs. Their eyes are black, active, and prominent in females, but slightly shrunken in males and should not be walled, i. e., the cornea should not have whiteness. Their necks are long and thin in females and thick and massive in males. Their ears are short, thin, and alert. They typically have short and tightly curved horns. Bulls weigh around and cows around Average milk production is in a lactation period of 310 days.

In Asia, Murrah buffaloes were first introduced in Philippines from India in 1917 to cross breed with native Carabao breed. A few Nili Ravi breed were also exported from India to Philippines. Philippine Carabao Center was established in 1992 at Science City of Muñoz in Nueva Ecija province to breed and cross carabao based on high yield Murrah buffalo in the Philippines as a multi purpose animal that can be raised for milk, meat, hide, and draft. This project has now expected to more than 14 buffalo research centers, based on murrah breed, spread across Philippines. In Europe, the native breed were crossbred with the Indian Murrah breed in Bulgaria, and later in Romania, some were crossbred with Bulgarian Murrah. In South America, starting from late 19th century Murrah & Jaffarabadi breeds were imported by Brazil to improve the breed there.