In spite of the fact that buffaloes have lower basal metabolism and, therefore, have less maintenance requirement and low body temperatures than cattle they still and wallow. During wallowing the buffaloes do not immerse the whole body and sit in water for sufficiently longer periods. The large size of the rumen, higher quantity of ingesta and slower rumen movements on riverine lead to excessive heat of fermentation which is not dissipated efficiently. Moreover, the body surface area in water buffalo is smaller compared with swamp buffalo with the result that they prefer wallowing for heat dissipation. The fact is also confirmed by the sitting posture adopted at the time of wallowing.
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