wa·ter buf·fa·lo • n. a large black domesticated buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) with heavy swept-back horns, used as a beast of burden throughout the tropics. It is the descendant of the wild B. arnee, which is confined to remote parts of India and Southeast Asia.

water buffalo (caraboa) Large ox, domesticated in much of the tropical world; it is feral in parts of India. Height: to 1.8m (6ft) at the shoulder. Family Bovidae; species Bubalus bubalis.