| Scientific Name;
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Synerus caffer
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| Classification:
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| Status:
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Not listed by USFWS or CITES. Buffalo are still numerous and in some places they are more common than in former times. Currently, the national parks of Africa are taking steps to protect their native wildlife against Bovine Tuberculosis. While this does not have a serious effect on domestic cattle it can decimate the herds of cape buffalo and their prey species such as lion and hyena
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| Range:
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Throughout central Africa including Sudan, Ethiopia, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanganyika, Uganda, and South Africa.
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| Habitat:
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Broad-leafed savannas and are never far from water. They prefer swampy ground where they can wallow.
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| Diet:
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Herbivore, primarily grazers, they feed on grasses, even the coarsest; they may browse on leaves, small twigs, and young shoots. Water is essential to them, they must drink each day.
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| Size:
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Height: 4 ft. 8 in.-5 ft. 4in. tall at shoulder.
Length: 8 ft. - 11 ft. 4in.
Weight: 1,100 - 2,000lbs. Females are smaller
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| Lifespan:
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15-25years in the wild
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| Location:
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Print Fact Sheet
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Cape Buffalo
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Special Features:
- Sight is poor and hearing rather poor, but scent is well developed.
- Buffalo are silent animals except during the mating season when they utter grunts and hoarse growls.
- Buffalo are mainly nocturnal. They remain hidden among dense vegetation during the heat of the day. They come out to drink and feed at dusk and during the night.
- The horns of the Cape buffalo are an excellent indication of age and gender. The females and young males do not have the hard shielding that protects the base of the skull in large adult males.
Social Structure & Behavior:
The cape buffalo is a very sociable animal often living in herds of up to a thousand animals. They pack closely together and often lie touching. They cooperatively protect herd members, especially calves. They respond to a predator such as a lion en masse. Herds are dominated by a master bull and by an old female. When the herd is grazing, scouts give warning of danger. Old bulls may live by themselves or associate in small groups, as do wounded animals.
Breeding and Care of Young:
Sexual maturity occurs at 3.5 to 5 years for both sexes.
They breed year-round in some areas; seasonal (wet months) in Uganda and South Africa. One calf is born after an 11 to 11.5 month gestation.
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