Buffalo instead of excavators Water buffaloes to replace machines at Lake Baldeggersee

Three water buffaloes have been grazing in Ronfeld on Lake Baldegg since Saturday. They are supposed to keep the rampant vegetation in check and thus replace machines.

Keystone-SDA

06.05.2026, 22:44

SDA

Thanks to water buffaloes, birds, amphibians and insects should feel more at home in the Ronfeld on the southern shore of Lake Baldegg. The nature conservation organization Pro Natura is grazing three animals in order to be able to do without machines when maintaining the protected area.

The three water buffalo in Ronfeld appeared at the fence of their one and a half hectare territory on time for the media event on Wednesday morning. They walked leisurely around the group. They like to eat young grasses, but do not disdain tough plants such as reeds. They wallow on the damp ground, which cools them down and protects them from insects.

Their natural behavior allows them to fulfill two functions for Pro Natura, explained project manager Marianne Baruffa: On the one hand, they keep the overgrowing vegetation in check, which means that mowing is no longer necessary. On the other hand, they create open, muddy areas on the ground.

This maintains the conditions in the Ronfeld that are vital for natterjack toads, the endangered marsh dragonfly and migratory birds, says Baruffa. The eight hectares of former agricultural land, which Pro Natura has been purchasing since 1999, is home to numerous specialized animal and plant species.

Buffaloes instead of excavators

Until now, mowing the overgrown vegetation was part of the maintenance of the protected area. Soil was also removed sporadically with the excavator. This prevented bushes or trees from growing, which are undesirable in the marshy Ronfeld, explained Baruffa. However, the interventions also had disadvantages, as they reduced the clay layer that keeps the area moist.

There are so-called "flood troughs" in the Ronfeld: temporary bodies of water whose water level can be controlled by means of shafts. If the clay layer is too thin during the dry phase, the clay can become brittle and no longer close.

"At the moment, we would have to intervene again with the excavator," said Baruffa. However, Pro Natura has now opted for alternative maintenance: Grazing by the three water buffalo.

They have been living in the Ronfeld since Saturday, initially for a six-week test phase. The effect will then be evaluated. A second grazing period is planned for the fall. The three-year pilot project will cost 28,000 francs, half of which will be covered by the canton of Lucerne.

Frugal animals

The three two-and-a-half-year-old buffalo cows spend the rest of the year on a meat and dairy farm in the Aargau Reuss Valley. The animals are pregnant and are due to calve next summer and fall.

Their owner, Jeremias Villiger, described the water buffalo as "frugal". If they graze, additional feeding is not necessary.

The animals are particularly suitable for use in the flood troughs because - unlike dairy cows, for example - they like to go into the water. Other, native animal species would not do this. Thanks to their anatomy, they can keep their eyes and nose dry when swimming. In muddy terrain, their broad claws give them grip.

Smaller groups of the 120 or so buffalo on Villiger's farm also graze other nature reserves in the canton of Aargau from May to November.

In this way, the water buffalo help to promote habitats. Even after digestion, they give something back to the environment: beetle larvae, for example, can develop in their dung heaps.