It has more hair on the body than does B. bubalis and is dark brown to grayish black. Its horns are stout and short, only about 355-510 mm long. Although the young are thickly covered with yellowish brown, woolly hair, the skin of old individuals is almost bare. The general color of adults varies from dark brown to blackish, and there are often blotches of white on the face, nape, throat, and lower limbs. The underparts are usually light brown.
Males are generally darker than females.
The hide is of exceptional thickness, the limbs are rather short, the body is plump, and the neck is thick. The anoas and tamaraw are basically forest animals. Anoas feed in the morning and rest in the shade during the afternoon. Their gait is a trot, but at times they make clumsy leaps. The water buffalo is associated with wet grasslands, swamps, and densely vegetated river valleys.