Your Safari Guide to the African Buffalo

The African buffalo is a creature often underestimated, one of Africa’s Big 5, the older males who have left the main herds can be dangerous animals to get on the wrong side of. However, the herds are made of hierarchies, it is thought they decide on where to travel based on a majority “vote” and they have strong family bonds, the calves suckle for up to 15 months and the females usually stay with their mothers for the rest of their lives. 

Here's all you need to know about the great African Buffalo. 

Quick facts about the Buffalo:  

Scientific Name:  Syncerus cafer

Life Span: 11 – 22 years in the wild 

Gestation: 11 – 12 months 

Weight: About 300 to 835 kilograms 

Lifespan: Approx. 12 - 20 years in the wild although a captive buffalo once lived till 29 years

Speed: Approx. 20mph at full charge 

Diet: Herbivorous 

Predators: Humans, lions, leopards, hyena, African wild dogs. 

How can you tell the difference between a male and female buffalo? 

This is one of the easier African animal species to see the difference between male and female from a distance. The males are far larger weighing from around 320kg in the Forest Buffalo to 700kg in the Savanna Buffalo whereas the females are approx. 260kg in the Forest Buffalo up to around 550kg in the Savanna Buffalos. Females also lack the sclerotised keratin between their horns with it being covered in hair rather than the large “boss” which the males have. 

It is thought that the larger and thicker the horns are in an adult male, the higher he will be ranked in the hierarchy of the herd. The size and weight will also help when it comes to shows of strength and in fighting which would help them climb the ranks of the herd. 

How many species of buffalo are there in Africa? 

There is only one species of buffalo, however there are four sub-species. The Forest Buffalo, West African Savanna Buffalo & Central African buffalo and Southern Savanna buffalo (also known as the Cape Buffalo) the latter being the one most commonly found. 

Raising their Young  

At around 4 or 5 years, females then to have their first calf and then calf every two years after with the birthing coinciding with the rainy season when there is plenty of grass to go around and therefore giving the newbords a much great chance of survival, with the mothrs getting plenty of nutrients to create milk and the longer grass helping to hide the young as they develop the strength to stand and walk.  

Babies are incredibly vulnerable straight after birth and can be left behind by a herd that’s on the go, the mothers have been known to sometimes leave them behind to stay within the safety of the herd.  However they usually hide them in a shrub and feed nearby until the calf gains enough strength for them both to catch up. 

Calves suckle for almost a year and are completely dependent on their mothers during this time, with the males playing no part in the rearing process. At around 4 years the males move away from the family groups, sometimes staying within the main herd but at times leaving the herd altogether, whereas the females usually stay within the maternal herd. 

Daily Behaviour 

The African buffalo spends the mornings, late afternoons and nighttime grazing, with the middle of the day reserved for cooling down in the shade which they ruminate. They chew the cud just like their cousins the cow, secreting a number of litres of saliva a day which helps them to extract a greater amount of nutrients from the grass.

You may come across a buffalo bull with vegetation caught up in their horns, they often thrash bushes to demonstrate prowess.  

Their sight and hearing are quite poor but their sense of smell is very good which is why you’ll often see them with their heads raised sniffing at the air. 

Researchers studying the behaviour of buffalo have come across an incredible group phenomenon in large groups of females. When at rest, researchers believe they have observed them sitting on the ground facing in the direction they think the herd should move in. Once ready to move on the herd goes in the direction in which the majority of females were facing. Whats even more interesting is that the hieracrchy within the herd doesn’t seem to influence this process at all.  

Buffalo herds are mostly lead by dominant males and females, the dominance is established by a complex social structure based initially on sex with the males bulls dominating the cows and then within the separate gender groups the males status is determined by fighting ability which is affected by age and strength, whereas the cows move up the female ranks when they have a calf. 

Those animals higher up the ranks enjoy travelling and feeding at the front and centre of the herd where they get the most protectin from predators as well as their choice of the fresh grazing, where as those at the back have to graze on what is left as the herd moves through. 

Why do buffalo live in herds?  

Buffalo can live in herds as big as 3000 strong in areas such as the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. These herds are made up of males and females, old and young and are at their largest during the dry season. After the rains when food is abundant the large herds of over 500 strong animals starts to split into smaller sub groups, within these small groups there are yet more sub groups of around 20 buffalo who stay closer to each other than the rest of the heard and again within these smaller groups are the family groups who stay even closer still.  

Old males often leave the herd either choosing to live on their own or in small groups of less than 10. These old male groups are often referred to as “dagga boys” in South Africa which means mud-boys a nod to their favourite past time of wallowing in the mud. This activity is also thought to help protect them from the sun as they start to lose hair on their rumps and backs as they age, it also protects them from biting flies aids in cooling them down from the hot Africa sun. They also hang around the marshy areas where there is softer grass, easier to feed off as their teeth wear down with age.  

Some of the younger bulls do similar, forming their own bachelor groups.  These bachelor groups often re-join the herds during the rainy season to mate with the females. 

Living in large herds is the one of the main ways in which they protect themselves from predators. Being in a large group makes it harder for a predators such as lions to pick out one individual animal to hunt. They can also intimidate the predators by standing up to them in these large numbers. 

How to Buffalo communicate with each other?  

Researchers believe there to be 5 main vocalisations that the African buffalo use to communicate with each other. One instructs the herd to start moving, one directs the herd to change direction, there is one that signals aggression and one that’s believed to signal pleasure as it is used mainly when herds are approaching watering holes and the final one is used when the herd is potentially in danger such as if a predator is nearby. 

Distress bleats from the calves can also instantly bring a whole herd to their rescue.

What do buffalo eat? 

Buffalos mostly graze, choosing to do this mainly at night, early morning and evening and like areas with the most palatable and nutritious grasses. They will browse on shrubs if needed due to lack of grass or bad quality. You can often find them round the waterholes in the early morning and evening as well as they drink up to 30 – 40 litres of water a day. During the heat of the day they tend to stand of lie in the shade as they ruminate. 

Mating 

You can tell when a female is on heat as your notice the bulls regularly sniff and flehmen grimace at her genitals and urine, he’ll stay close to her for the few days that she is on heat and rest his chin on her rump. A male has to fight for at least 8 years to become dominate enough to secure cows to mate with. The highest ranking males mate the closest to ovulation, when the chance of the cow becoming pregnant is the greatest. 

Giving Birth  

The gestation period of a buffalo is around 11 – 12 months.  

The cows give birth within the safety of the herd, however straight after birth if the herd moves off while the calf is still gaining enough strength to stand and walk then the herd can move off without them leaving them temporarily vulnerable. If this happens the cow may hide the new-born in a scrub while she feeds nearby. 

Calves suckle for around 15 months but the social ties between mother and the female young stay strong throughout their lives as they feed, rest and travel close to one another while the males move further away through the herd. 

Do Buffalo make good pets? 

African buffalo have never managed to be domesticated mainly due to its unpredictable behaviour alongside dangerous horns and large size making it a dangerous animals to humans. 

Dominance within males 

Bulls flight to determine dominance. These start as threat displays which involve head tossing, short chases, digging up soil with their horns (this can also make their horns look bigger as the mud cakes onto them) and horn hooking. 

If neither submiss then they can become involved in a full scale fight as they charge each other until they connect horn bosses and follow through by pushing each other. 

When two 800kg bulls charge at 20km/h and collide head on the impact is equivalent to a car hitting a wall at 50km/h. If the bulls fight at closer range the impact is less damaging.  

Buffalo bulls also like to bash bushes to display their strength when confronted by competitors or predators. Rubbing their horns in the shrub also helps the irritations caused by parasites at the base of the horn. 

Home Ranges and Territories 

Although buffalo do not defend their territories, their home ranges do not overlap with those of other herds, the leaders of the herds lead them down known routes for water and grazing, these are passed down through the generations. 

Researchers studying Savanna buffalo have found home ranges as small as 22km sq to some more than 1,400km sq. 

Are buffalo dangerous?  

Generally buffalo in herds are quite relaxed as they feel safe within numbers, however like most animals you don’t want to get between a mother and her calf nor in the middle of the herd. When the members on the outskirts of the herd feel a potential threat they sometimes approach the source of their concern with their noses held high to catch the scent. 

The smaller bachelor herd and especially the older males on their own can be extremely dangerous if they feel threatened and are known to charge humans. What makes these buffalo so dangerous is once they start a charge there is very little likelihood that they will stop. Buffalos also have a reputation when being hunted by humans for seeming to walk off but then circle back and counterattack, its not know whether they do this on other predaotors or just their human ones.

If a herd is spooked then they can start to stampede, easily injuring anything that’s in the way of the herd.  

Conservation Status 

The Southern Savanna buffalo is the most prominent with around 550,000 animals across. None of the species are considered endangered.