Italian Mediterranean buffalo
Buffalo in the Agro Pontino
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| Conservation status | Not at risk |
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| Other names | Bufala Mediterranea Italiana |
| Country of origin | Italy |
| Distribution | throughout Italy, principally Campania |
| Type | River |
| Use | Dairy, meat; formerly draught |
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| Coat | skin dark slate-grey; hair black |
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The Italian Mediterranean (Italian: Bufala Mediterranea Italiana) is an Italian breed of water buffalo. It is of the River sub-type of water buffalo and is similar to the buffalo breeds of Hungary, Romania and the Balkan countries. It is the only indigenous water buffalo breed in Italy. A herd-book was opened in 1980, and the breed was officially recognised in 2000.
The buffalo may have been introduced into Italy in Roman times, or during the Barbarian invasions of the Italian peninsula.
In 1979 a national association of buffalo breeders, the Associazione Nazionale Allevatori Specie Bufalina, was formed, and a genealogical herd-book for the buffalo was opened in the following year. The Mediterranea Italiana breed was officially recognised in 2000.
In the past the buffalo was widely used as a draught animal. Buffalo also kept waterways and drainage channels clear of weed, swimming in the deeper parts and wading in the shallows.
The Mediterranea Italiana is raised and selectively bred principally for the production of the buffalo milk used to make buffalo mozzarella, notably the Mozzarella di Bufala Campana of Campania, which has Denominazione di origine controllata (DOP) status. Other dairy products including burrata, caciotta di bufala, ricotta di bufala, scamorza di bufala, stracchino di bufala, stracciatella di bufala and yoghurt are also made from the milk. Lactation lasts on average 277 days, and usually yields 1600–1800 kg of milk; yields of 2000–3000 kg per lactation are not uncommon. In 2012 a total of 192,455,300 kg of buffalo milk was produced in Italy, about 1.7% of total milk production in that year; the fat content was an average of 7.92%.
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