COWS & BUFFALOES

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Peter Thompson wrote

>Am I correct in thinking that a buffalo is black and shaped like a cow?

NCS&M 1/7/99

Yes, but that will not help you much, because cows are often black, too. However, I can help you here.
Professor Isosceles Vilikazi, working under controlled laboratory conditions in his lab at Nyamandhlovu, has established that the rectal temperature of a buffalo is 0.5 degrees (Fahrenheit) lower than that of a cow.

Consequently, if you take the thermometer from your recently acquired medical kit, approach the subject animal from the rear, llft its tail, insert the thermometer, and hold it there for twenty seconds, you should be able to tell quite easily.

This is not actually long enough to give you an accurate reading, but if you are still alive after the twenty seconds has elapsed, it is almost certainly a cow.

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