Cape Buffalo

The Cape buffalo is a very robust and powerful animal, with a reputation for having a very bad temper! Herds of Cape buffalo can often be found in numbers well into the hundreds. These are typically made up of females and the young. The herds are often trailed by a few grumpy old males. Weighing up to nearly 900kgs and equipped with a hard head of horns, the buffalo is an incredibly dangerous species, even for big predators like lions, who are often injured or killed trying to take this species down.

DID YOU KNOW?

Who's the Boss?

The horns of a male buffalo are fused together at the base, forming an incredibly tough shield over its head. This shield is known as a "boss".

Not Your Ordinary Bovine

Despite being a bovine, Cape buffalo are not an ancestor of domestic cattle. Unlike their cousins in Asia - the water buffalo, they have never been domesticated. This is probably due to their temperamental and dangerously unpredictable nature.

A Very Deadly Vegan

Despite being one of the most feared animals in Africa, the buffalo is a strictly herbivorous grazer - meaning it only eats grass!

A Democratic Herd

Female buffalo have been documented "voting". While the herd is resting, they sit facing the direction they think the herd should move. After some time, they will move in a communally agreed-upon direction.

Photo of a large male buffalo through the bushes

The shield formed by the horns on a male buffalos head is called a "boss"

Photo of a large herd of buffalo in the long grass

Buffalos can travel in herds of up to several hundred.

Photo of a female buffalo with her calf

Baby buffalo are light brown in colour and slowly get darker with age.

Photo of a large male buffalo through the bushes

The shield formed by the horns on a male buffalos head is called a "boss"

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Buffalo Conservation

Although Cape buffalo are considered "Least Concern" in terms of their conservation status, their numbers are declining across the continent. Suitable grazing habitat for these creatures is shrinking, meaning more and more people are coming into conflict with buffalo looking for grazing areas. Outside of protected areas, buffalos are considered dangerous destroyers of crops. They are also known to break fences and spread diseases to domestic cattle.

Some animals, like cows, can get very sick from a bad desi called bovine TB. But some other animals, like buffalo, can have this germ in their bodies and not get very sick. They can live for a long time and look healthy even with the germ. These animals are called ‘maintenance hosts’ because they can keep the germ alive in them. Even though these animals look healthy, they can give the germ to many other animals that live with them or near them. This makes the germ a big problem that can last for a long time.

Here are some reputable organisation links, where you can read more about the buffalos and their conflict with humans.

African Wildlife Foundation

National Geographic

Kruger Park