Carabao
The carabao (Filipino: kalabaw; Malay: Kerbau ) is one of the domestic breeds of water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis ), as is to be found in the Philippines, Guam, and various parts of Southeast Asia. Carabaos are typically associated with agriculture, where they are stretched as a workhorse to a plow or a cart and used as a pack animal for transport from the field and to the market.
The name comes from the Philippine carabao Cebuano dialect and was obviously taken from the Malay.
Description
Adult animals can reach a weight of 700 kg to 800 kg, and have fine long gray or black hair that cover the entire body easily. They have a head of hair on the forehead and on the highest point of her back. Both the male and the female specimens have massive horns that grow away from the head to the back, forming a crescent-shaped sickle.
On Guam
The carabao is considered to Guam as a national symbol. This water buffalo breed was imported in the late 16th century by the Spanish colonial administration of Guam from the Philippines, to be used as a beast of burden and as a means of transport. In addition, they were used in agriculture and used as a beast of burden for the carabao carts ( Carabaokarren ). Until the late 1960s, carabao races were a popular sport on the island, which took place mainly during festivals.
Today, the carabao is a part of everyday culture in this American territory. A Christmas song entitled " Jungle Bells " ( Jungle Bells), sung to the tune of "Jingle Bells", describing the ride on a Carabaokarren, instead driving on a one-horse sleigh in the original. Carabaos are often used for festivals and other treats to children there to serve as mounts. Their meat is sometimes eaten as a delicacy, although this is no longer common today. Colorful -painted fiberglass Caraboafiguren are many places in the capital, Hagåtña, as in other places, for example to see the Guam Premier Outlets in Tamuning.
While carabaos with a population of several thousand were usually ubiquitous and fairly in Guam prior to 1900, they have become rare in most parts of the island today. The exception is the U.S. Navy magazine in the village of Santa Rita, where carabaos can live protected from hunters, because the base is fenced from all sides. The population of the carabaos in this area grew to several hundred, up to a point where they were a nuisance because they damaged their habitat and pollute the water reservoir of the base. In 2003, the Navy launched a controversial plan by the Commission initiated a program in the way that would decimate the stock and reduce to an acceptable and manageable proportions. This led to serious protests at the Chamorro, a tribe that is indigenous to Guam for centuries and the Carabao closely linked.
In the Philippines
The Carabao in the Philippines especially for the agricultural economy and is considered the main workhorse of the country. Especially in the provincial tracts of land where you can not afford a tractor and in hilly terrain, in the use of the technique is limited, the Carabao shows its advantages in the field work. But even in the forestry arise in numerous applications, for example, logs from inaccessible areas to create out.
A long-standing agricultural method, called Payatak, requires the use of carabaos and is today still used in Northern Samar. Here, the soil of paddy field is first softened with rainwater or diverted watershed before the farmer leads a group of carabaos over the area to let the arable land as long as betrampeln until it is wet enough to accommodate the rice seedlings can. However, this time-consuming method yields lower profits and provides a poorer income in comparison to continuously irrigated fields.
In the province of Bulacan is celebrated on 14 May, the " Carabao Festival ". The farmers decorate their carabaos this with garlands of flowers and colorful ribbons and then lead them into the church where they will be blessed before they pull in a parade through the village. On the second day racers will take place under the carabaos around, even though the animals are not known for their speed.
In late 2007, the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC ), which has its headquarters in Nueva Ecija began with a study of the breeding of a water buffalo that can deliver per day through genetic manipulation 4-18 liters of milk to. The bulk of the funding was taken over by the Ministry of Science and Technology. The goal should be to filter out by a marker -assisted selection process, the best animals immediately after birth to limit rearing on rewarding copies.
The carabao is today among other things, the mascot of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, a major Philippine newspaper and bears the name Guyito.