So I was on a songthaew with Smokie in Koh Samui when I noticed a solitary buffalo munching away in a field.

It got me thinking........what's the point of having one buffalo? How do they breed? Is there some kind of buffalo dating service? Maybe a special website for lonely buffalos?

Then I thought.....they must be good milkers.......but you can't get a lot of milk from a male buffalo??? Then I thought......maybe they make good hamburgers........when I thought a bit more about that I pictured a buffalo flipping hamburgers at bbq.......then I snapped out of it.

Then I thought.......in the West farmers tend to have herds of cattle to make it economical and profitable.........but I've never seen a herd of buffalo in Thailand.

Can someone please explain to me the business model and point of having one buffalo?..........I can't sleep at night worrying about it.

Fighting. Good buffalo can rake in 500,000 Baht in one fight.

I thought you were just missing your girlfriend!

Fighting. Good buffalo can rake in 500,000 Baht in one fight.

There you go........I didn't know that.......did you know that Smokie?

One Buffalo, One Fish

'Nuff said

Fighting. Good buffalo can rake in 500,000 Baht in one fight.

There you go........I didn't know that.......did you know that Smokie?

Yes. Big bucks at the buffalo fights....enjoy a flutter if you dare!

It must be a scary sight......I'm away to have a look on youtube

It must be a scary sight......I'm away to have a look on youtube

i hear theres big money to be made in buffalo veterinary services, bloody things always need tending too evidently.

A healthy female is so productive ...

From this to this

With thanks to the Australian Buffalo Dairy Farmer

Even a sick Buffalo can be milked for all it's worth ...

Husband of the woman who runs the houses where I live does nothing except look after his buffalo. 30 minute shower just after dawn followed by a huge sack of freshly cut grass. On a very hot day the grass will be replaced around midday. Just before dusk another shower using soap by the look of it followed by fresh cut grass again. Maybe 3 months back I returned late on a Sunday afternoon and both its horns were covered in gold leaf and the following day the fella had got an even larger gold chain around his next. Name of the buffalo is called 'heavy gold' by the way.

@david48.........how did they fit that big buffalo on that small plate??

@notmyself.......fascinating stuff......I genuinely didn't know about the fighting and when I searched youtube the first listing was a fight in Koh Samui.

You learn something new every day.

One went nuts during the race and tore through the crowd in 2003 I think, could be 2004. Held every year after the rice harvest.

^^ More of the same ...

My wife said she sells the calves, good money. When I asked what the people that buy the calves do with them, she said 'they breed them and sell the calves'... not quite thought through properly I think. They do get eaten, anybody eaten buffalo steak?

Maybe there is only one left, and the others have been eaten already? Or perhaps the mate for the buffalo is in hiding, with a Farang somewhere being told it is sick? Maybe a Farang was told a buffalo had died, did the unexpected and bought them a buffalo instead of sending a bucket of cash and they have no idea what to do with it now because they never had one before?

My wife said she sells the calves, good money. When I asked what the people that buy the calves do with them, she said 'they breed them and sell the calves'... not quite thought through properly I think. They do get eaten, anybody eaten buffalo steak?

Another Thai MLM scheme:-)

The reason why there are buffalos in Thailand, is because there are stupid farangs that will give the owners lots of money when the buffalos become sick.

Fighting. Good buffalo can rake in 500,000 Baht in one fight.

That's nothing. On the internet, one buffalo can rake in millions a year in health care donations from guys in Europe. All it takes is a photo of one lying down with "poor" people standing about it looking worried.

They are eaten, I have eaten Larb kwai many times, both cooked and raw, the sweet dried "beef" is sometimes kwai, was at an upcountry moo-kata that featured it sliced thin, for the grill dome thingy....was delishious. The skin is used for conga and bongo drum heads sold all over the world. Koh Samui is famous for the fighting but have not heard of it other places, they are rather docile by nature so just good to have around. At one time and occasionally still they pulled the plow and the cart.

it comes in my mind that there are lot Muslims in the south, I am sure they eat a lot beef as they aren't allowed to eat pork.

If you cant afford a roht dak dak, then the buffalo is the roht.

the purpose of a buffalo is to get sick in order to live up to the sick buffalo moniker

Mine mows the lawn.

Mine mows the lawn.

I thought that was your task ...

Mine mows the lawn.

I thought that was your task ...

Nah, gave it up because of work permit hassles.

They are eaten, I have eaten Larb kwai many times, both cooked and raw, the sweet dried "beef" is sometimes kwai, was at an upcountry moo-kata that featured it sliced thin, for the grill dome thingy....was delishious. The skin is used for conga and bongo drum heads sold all over the world. Koh Samui is famous for the fighting but have not heard of it other places, they are rather docile by nature so just good to have around. At one time and occasionally still they pulled the plow and the cart.

Quite correct, the skin is also eaten, kind of like a 'buffalo scratching' if one isn't put off by the rancid smell and hairy appearance before cooking. The Hmong New Year is also celebrated with buffalo fighting events in parts of Laos. Buffalo meat is also preferable to the rather tough beef in these parts too. You can still see the beasts plowing fields in the more remote parts.

Oh and one more point, Lao girls haven't cottoned on to the sick buffalo yarn yet, give it a few more years and they will.

so rather than admit you don't actually know why anyone would keep a buffalo, most of you would rather just belabor tired cliches.

You might have gotten a better response to your question if you had kept an eye on your spelling and grammar.

Your question should read:

What is the point of one buffalo?

or if the plural was intended:

What is the point of buffali?

so rather than admit you don't actually know why anyone would keep a buffalo, most of you would rather just belabor tired cliches.

I quite enjoy a good old belabouring now and then.

The word is you shouldnt eat buffalo as its not right to nosh an animal thats useful.

You might have gotten a better response to your question if you had kept an eye on your spelling and grammar.

Your question should read:

What is the point of one buffalo?

or if the plural was intended:

What is the point of buffali?

One might have gotten more applause for your attempt at a derailment had you tried to be less pretentious or at least checked your vocabulary and grammar first. the -i ending for plurals is usually applied to latin-based words, and the commonly accepted plurals of buffalo are 'buffalo', 'buffaloes' and 'buffalos'.

I had always imagined they were retained for their vetinary expense, and presumably to attract subsidies from the government, as well as being sold off laughingly as beef to unscrupulous butchers

SC