Water Buffalo Caught On Georgia Trail Camera

GON has received thousands of trail-camera pictures over the years, and some of those submissions have been unique. However, Brad Catron, of Gainesville, sent GON a picture earlier today that has got to be a one-in-a-million trail-camera photo, at least for ones snapped in Georgia. Brad received numerous photos of a herd of water buffalo on his hunting property in Wilkes County.

“At first I thought they were wild cows, but something about their horns showed that they weren’t smooth, and wild cows horns are smooth, so I went on Google and did some research. That’s when it looked pretty apparent that they were Asian water buffalo, and I have no idea where they came from,” said Brad.

The Georgia DNR has seen the photos and agreed that they are water buffalo.

“They are considered a domestic animal, just like a cow would be, so they (the owners of the water buffalo) are not required to have a permit. Therefore, they would have to be treated like it was your neighbor’s cow out on your property,” said Lieutenant Wayne Hubbard from the Georgia DNR Special Permit Division.

Although who they belong to is still a mystery, a DNR ranger is currently looking into it.

“One of our rangers from that county is visiting surrounding landowners and trying to ask around and see who they belong to and where they got out from,” said Wayne.

Brad also discovered a lot of background information on these animals from his research.

“Asian water buffalo have been domesticated in Asia for thousands of years as work animals in muddy or flooded fields. These animals, however, appear to be wild and are hiding out amongst the bamboo cane thickets of a Georgia swamp,” said Brad.

Brad talked to someone last year who even mentioned water buffalo in their swamp.

“We should’ve believed him, but now we got photo evidence,” said Brad.

If you get strange photos on your trail-cameras, please e-mail GON at [email protected].