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| water buffalo |
Island mammals are often smaller than their relatives that live on the mainland. This island dwarfism is believed to be an adaptation to the smaller land area available to each animal for feeding and roaming. The water buffalo (upper), common throughout the mainland of tropical Asia and Australia, reaches a height of nearly six feet at the shoulder. An island buffalo, the anoa (lower), is the smallest of the world's wild cattle. Found only in the mountains of Celebes, this little animal is slightly more than three feet tall, or half the size of its mainland relative.
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| The island buffalo anoa |
