A member of the Big 5, the African or Cape Buffalo is the most formidable african bovid. It is not closely related to wild Asian Water Buffalo despite what many tourists to South Africa believe. There are two species on the African continent, the smaller forest dwelling Red Buffalo (Syncerus caffer nanus) and the larger savanna dwelling Cape Buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer).
The Cape Buffalo weighs around 500kg’s with large bulls topping the scales at around 850kg’s. Both males and females hav horns which are highly variable in size and shape. Female horns tend to be thinner and shorter than those of males as well as lacking the large mass which develops across the forehead of males. This mass is called the ‘boss’.
Ecology & Social organisation
Buffalo are bulk grazers which are bale to subsist on grasses too tall and coarse for most of the other ruminant species. In exercising its preference for the taller pastures, buffalo play a pioneering roll in savanna grazing succession by reducing vast tracts of grassland to the height preffered by more selective feeders such as wildbeest and white rhinoceros.
Large herds are very gregarious , nonterritorial and maintained by a male dominance hierarchy. The basic units of these large herds are stable groups or clans of presumbly related cows and their offspring. The maternal bond of a mohter with young male offsrping ends at around 3 years of age when the young bulls start to associate together in small bachelor groups. These immature bulls tend to keep their distance from adult bulls until they are ready to challenge for a position within the hierarchy.
Herds tend to congregate during the drier winter months when food and water resources become restricted. Herds will travel up to 17km in a day between good grazing and water resources. This makes for some incredible photographic opportunities as the herd kicks up a massive dust cloud.
Being such large bodied animals, Buffalo will nearly always have Red-billed or Yellow-billed Oxpeckers (birds) in attendance. These birds cling on to the skin of the buffalo and move around in search of ticks and other external parasites. This is the perfect illustration of symbiotic relationship!
Disease
Disease-free buffalo are relatively rare in South Africa as buffalo are very susceptible to contracting diseases such as Corridor disease, Bovine Tuberculosis, Foot-and-Mouth disease and Contagious Abortion. As a consequence, disease-free buffalo are much sought after and have become extremely expensive in South Africa.
Diseases such as Bovine Tuberculosis can also be passed on to other wildlife species, such a lions, which predate upon buffalo in the Kruger National Park There is currently a massive research effort underway by Ecologists to try and understand just how the disease is spreading in the park, and what effect this is having on the population demographics of the Buffalo and Lion.
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