Bos arnee was the scientific name proposed by Robert Kerr in 1792 who described a skull with horns of a buffalo zoological specimen from Bengal in northern India.

[3] The specific name arnee is derived from Hindi arnī, which referred to a female wild water buffalo; the term is related to Sanskrit áraṇya ("forest") and áraṇa ("strange, foreign.

")[4][5] Bubalus arnee was proposed by Charles Hamilton Smith in 1827 who introduced the generic name Bubalus for bovids with large heads, convex-shaped narrow foreheads, laterally bent flat horns, funnel-shaped ears, small dewlaps and slender tails.

[8] Most authors have adopted the binomen Bubalus arnee for the wild water buffalo as valid for the taxon.

[18] The wild water buffalo occurs in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, and Cambodia, with an unconfirmed population in Myanmar.

[24] In and around Bhutan's Royal Manas National Park, a small number of wild water buffaloes occur.

A population of 25–60 individuals inhabited lowland areas of the Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary between December 1999 and April 2001.

[2] Wild-living populations found elsewhere in Asia, Australia, Argentina and Bolivia are feral domestic water buffaloes.

Adult females and their young form stable clans of as many as 30 individuals which have home ranges of 170 to 1,000 ha (420 to 2,470 acres), including areas for resting, grazing, wallowing, and drinking.

[19] They are probably grazers by preference, feeding mainly on graminoids when available, such as Bermuda grass, and Cyperus sedges, but they also eat other herbs, fruits, and bark, as well as browsing on trees and shrubs.

[28] Tigers and mugger crocodiles prey on adult wild water buffaloes, and Asian black bears have also been known to kill them.

The most important threats are:[2] Bubalus arnee is included in CITES Appendix III, and is legally protected in Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Thailand.

[2] In 2017, 15 wild water buffaloes were reintroduced into Chitwan National Park in Nepal to establish a second viable sub-population in the country.

[30] In 2023, 4 wild buffalos were translocated to Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve to reverse its declining population in the state.