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African Buffalo
Conservation status
Conservation Dependent
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Bovidae Subfamily: Bovinae Genus: Syncerus Hodgson, 1847
Binomial name
Syncerus caffer (Sparrman, 1779)
Subspecies
S. c. caffer S. c. nanus S. c. brachyceros S. c. mathewsi'

The African Buffalo or Cape Buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is a bovid from the family of the Bovidae. It is up to 1.7 meters high, 2.8 meters long. On average, an adult male stands about 1.35 - 1.45 m high at the shoulder and weighs 600–750 kg, while a female is 10–15 cm shorter and weighs between 400 and 550 kg.^[1] Bulls at ten years of age or older can reach or exceed 900 kg. The African Buffalo is not closely related to the slightly larger Wild Asian Water Buffalo, but its ancestry remains unclear.^[2] Owing to its unpredictable nature which makes it highly dangerous to humans, it has not been domesticated, unlike its Asian counterpart, the Domestic Asian Water Buffalo.

Contents 1 Overview 2 Range and habitat 3 Social behavior and reproduction 4 Status 5 Gallery 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

The Cape Buffalo is a very powerful creature, demanding respect from even a pride of lions when paths cross. Other than humans, they have few natural predators and are capable of defending themselves against (and sometimes killing) lions.^[3] Lions do kill and eat buffalo regularly, but it typically takes multiple lions to bring down a single adult buffalo; only large male lions have been known to take down adult buffalo on their own. The leopard and spotted hyena are a threat only to newborn calves. The African Buffalo has never been domesticated.

Known as one of the "big five" in Africa, the African Buffalo is widely regarded as a very dangerous animal, as it gores and kills several people every year.^[4] Buffalo are sometimes reported to kill more people in Africa than any other animal, although the same claim is sometimes made of Hippopotami or Crocodiles.^[5] Buffalo are notorious among big game hunters as very dangerous animals, with wounded animals reported to ambush and attack pursuers.^[6]

Cape Buffalo occur from open savannah to thickly wooded country, and wallow when the opportunity presents itself. They are found in Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania.

The main herd consists of females and their offspring. Males will form bachelor groups with dominance hierarchies. Old males normally live alone. A male is recognizable by the thickness of his horns, and is called the "Boss." During the mating season the bachelor groups stay with the herd and fight among each other for females.

Cows first calve at five years of age, after a gestation period of 11.5 months. Newly born calves remain hidden in vegetation for the first few weeks while being nursed occasionally by the mother before joining the main herd. Calves are held in the centre of the herd for safety. ^[7] Males leave their mothers when they are two years old and join the bachelor groups.

The current status of African cape buffalo is dependant on the existence of the animals value to both trophy hunters and tourist paying the wave for conservation efforts through anti-poaching patrols, village crop damage payouts, and CAMPFIRE payback programs to local areas.

The current total number of cape buffalo is spread throughout non-desert southern Africa from the Egypt in the North to South Africa in the South. The cape buffalo are estimated to number around a million, but quality counts are not possible with the lack of research funding in places like Sudan, Chad, Zaire, and Benin. Most professional hunters, safari outfitters, and wildlife professionals believe the number to be only representing the actual Cape subspecies, and not counting the Nile, North-East, or Forest buffalo.

19 century drawing	Herd	In Kenya at Sunset	They did not actually fight.
A typical "dagga boy" from Ngorongoro Crater Tanzania.	Cape Buffalo and her calf.

• Wild Asian Water Buffalo
• Domestic Asian Water buffalo

1. ^ David Macdonald and Sasha Norris: The new encyclopedia of mammals. Oxford University Press 2001
2. ^ Cape Buffalo.
3. ^ Cape Buffalo. Canadian Museum of Nature.
4. ^ Top Ten Deadliest Animals.
5. ^ Africa on the Matrix: The Cape Buffalo.
6. ^ African Animals Hunting facts and tips - Buffalo Hunting.
7. ^ African Buffalo. British Broadcasting Company.

• Antelope Specialist Group (1996). Syncerus caffer. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
• Huffman, B. 2006. The ultimate ungulate page. UltimateUngulate.com. Retrieved January 9, 2007.
• International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). 2006. Syncerus caffer,
• Nowak, R.M. and Paradiso, J.L. 1983. Walker's Mammals of the World. Baltimore, Maryland, USA: The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0801825253

• http://www.nature-wildlife.com/buftxt.htm
• Video:Battle Kruger
• Buffalo images
• Hypervideo showing buffalos fending off lion attack