The national animal of Vietnam is the buffalo—not to be confused with the bison! The animal represents courage, prosperity and happiness, and the buffalo has played a vital role in Vietnamese agriculture for thousands of years. They are often the farmer’s most prized possession and are treated like family.
More specifically called the water buffalo, this animal originated in the Indian subcontinent and throughout Southeast Asia.
They are also found in Europe, Australia, North and South America and Africa today.
There are a further two subcategories of water buffalo: the swamp and the river buffalo.
Let’s find out more.
What is the national animal of Vietnam?
The national animal of Vietnam is the buffalo, or more specifically the water buffalo.
There are multiple different kinds of buffalo.
Before we get into the distinction between bison and buffalo, firstly let’s just break down which kind of buffalo we are talking about.
Water buffalo are bovines found in Asia which have been domesticated in the same way cows have over here in the west.
They are, therefore, taxonomically distinct from wild water buffalo, and there are indeed many clear differences between the two species.
The national animal of Vietnam, then, is also called either the domestic water buffalo or sometimes the Asian water buffalo.
Though they first originated, evolutionarily speaking, on the Indian subcontinent and in Southeast Asia, they can be found throughout the world today, from Europe to the Americas and Africa.
Based on morphological and behavioral distinctions, there are two types of domestic water buffalo—though they are not distinct species.
These are the river buffalo, mostly found in India, as well as the Balkans and Egypt, and the swamp buffalo, which is the type mostly found in Southeast Asia and thus Vietnam.
They have been a vital part of local agriculture since long before history began—though we have records as far back as 2500 BC of their trade in modern Iraq where they were sacrificed as well as being used for agriculture.
They are, given their proclivity for spending time in water, perfect for tilling rice fields.
Rice needs a huge amount of water to survive and has been arguably the single most important food item to many parts of Asia since history began.
In Vietnam they are seen as important symbols of prosperity and happiness—naturally, given their connection to the production of rice, but they are also symbols of courage and bravery.
Now, what about the buffalo and the bison?
Are buffalo and bison the same?
No, buffalo and bison are not the same.
Buffalo, though, has historically been the term used for the large bovine that is found in North America, which is in fact a bison.
There is also a species of bison in Europe, though these were not as frequently referred to as buffalo.
Bison, then, which evolved in North America, are entirely distinct from water buffalo.
It’s not really clear why settlers decided to call the bison buffalo, though is likely simply because they assumed them to be similar to Asian water buffalo which they did look quite similar to.
Others think it is to do with the French word beouf.
In any case, nowadays the American bison is referred to as a bison and the buffalo as a buffalo.
Getting these mixed up is very natural given that it’s still very common to refer to bison as buffalo.
Vietnam’s national buffalo, then, is essentially where the bison got its incorrect name. due to perceived similarities between the two species, they were presumed to be roughly the same thing and thus given the same name.
Why are they called water buffalo?
The reason they’re called water buffalo is very simple.
They love water and spend the majority of their days submerged in water, sometimes as deep as their nostrils.
There’s one very important reason for this.
Humans are fairly unique in our ability to sweat throughout virtually all areas of our body and it’s been a huge advantage to us.
Buffalo, on the other hand, lack adequate sweat glands to cool them in their natural environments.
Thus, like hippos, they spend most of their time in water so that they can keep cool.
Again, this is why they are so perfect for tilling those submerged rice fields.
Are water buffalo friendly to humans?
Water buffalo, it should be remembered, are a domesticated species, so if raised properly they are much more docile and thus friendly to humans.
However, wild buffalo are not and will not take kindly to humans coming too close.
They won’t yield their territory if you walk up to them, and they have powerful horns to intimidate you off with if they need to.
Even domesticated water buffalo are going to be wary of people they don’t already know, so if you were thinking of going up to one in the wild to say hi, it’s best to just admire them from afar and give them a wide berth!
The water buffalo is perhaps one of the single most important animals in Asia, then.
They are absolutely perfect for the cultivation of rice, and of course rice has been a staple food source across Asia for thousands of years.
It makes perfect sense for Vietnam to adopt the buffalo as its national animal, then, as this animal has been as important in Vietnam as has elsewhere for many millennia.
Just remember not to get mixed up with bison!