Are water buffalo that tough, or was the bullet to brittle? Cast Performance makes good stuff! Surprised their bullet would do that, but like anything else, accidents happen.
Probably a combination of the two. The stars clearly aligned for that bullet's brand of failure.
As a side note, water buffalo, like their cousins the Cape buffalo are thick-skinned bovine. Takes more to punch through them than it does a bison, watusi, etc. The skin is like an added layer of tough.