 By the 1880s the number of buffaloes released from early settlements had increased to such an extent that commercial harvesting of hides and horns was economically viable.The industry began on the Adelaide River, close to Darwin, and moved east to the Mary River and Alligator Rivers regions.Most of the buffalo hunting and skin curing was done in the dry season, between June and September, when buffaloes congregated around the remaining billabongs.