Old Friends Care For Each Other

An older farmer's concern for his water buffalo's sore foot is clear in his face as he waits for the vet to come examine her at one of the Rural Wellness Initiative vet clinics. He was first in line for seeing us there. The buffalo had a crack in the sole of her foot and the treatment was quite simple really, frequent washing with betadine to keep it clean. Photo by Tulip Afifi.

Mourning

We have had Qamar (it means "moon") out water buffalo for about 6 years. This winter she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl who we named Negoom (which means "stars") which gave us the moon and stars. Her previous offspring was named Kofta (for grilled ground meat) since as a bull calf that was going to be his fate. Kofta was dispatched very humanely last year, but Negoom, who was a delightfully friendly little girl who loved attention and scratches from everyone was going to be staying at the farm with her mother. This morning Negoom was found dead in the paddock of no apparent cause and her mother stood next to her crying.  Water buffalo aren't known for their intellect but they they feel things keenly.

Waiting Their Turns

We hosted a vet clinic at the farm today. Doctors from the Egyptian Society of Animal Friends came and treated our neighbours donkeys, cows, and water buffalo for free. Most of the work was pretty easy going, worming, hoof trimming and so on, along with a lot of talking to help the farmers and their children learn to care for their animals better. We'll do it again next week and expect an even better turnout.

The Tools of the Tbone

 

We were blessed last year with a male water buffalo calf who was named at birth Kofta for the delicious barbecued ground beef fingers that are prepared here. It may seem a bit harsh to some, but there really isn't much you can do with a male water buffalo unless he's something really special for breeding...and Kofta wasn't. He lived with us for a year and was much loved and petted, but as he approached his first birthday the testosterone began to flow and he was much bigger. When something the size of a VW bug decides to play head butt with you, it's time to do something. My assistant/driver/Man Friday/Photography Elf Mohamed brought his butchering tools, many of which are handmade and razor sharp, in to work and we now have a freezer full of Kofta. And he is quite tasty.

Motherhood

On New Year's Eve about 4 in the afternoon, our water buffalo Amar gave birth to a son that we named Kofta. This was her first offspring and it took her a while to figure out just what this creature was and what she was supposed to do with him. (That's right, guys, we have to figure this stuff out too...it isn't entirely hardwired.) Mother and son are doing well and while Kofta will be loved and petted for about 10 months, he is, unfortunately destined to be, well...kofta and kebab. That is the fate of most male bovines, after all.