Syncerus caffer
African buffalo

The African buffalo is found in the middle of the African continent (Estes, 1991). This range stretches from just south of the Sahara to just north of South Africa (Nowak, 1983).

African buffaloes are found in arid biomes, including areas with rivers, lakes, and swamps. They are found at sea level as well as in mountainous altitudes. African buffaloes like dense cover, but are found in open woodlands as well (Estes, 1991).

The African buffalo is an extremely large animal. The length from the head to the back ranges from 2,100 mm to 3,000 mm; tail length ranges from 750 mm to 1,100 mm; and the shoulder height ranges from 1,000 mm to 1,700 mm. African buffalos have large heads and limbs along with a broad chest. The ears on these buffalos are large and droopy. The horns of the African buffalo either spread out and downward, upward, or out and back. In males, the two horns are joined by a boss, which is a shield that covers the entire head. Size varies between subspecies of the African buffalo; S. c. caffer, found in the eastern savannahs, may be twice as large as S. c. nana, which occurs in equatorial forests. The color of buffalo hair ranges from brown to black. Young buffalos have a dense covering of hair; adults have sparce hair; and very little hair is present on the very old (Nowak, 1983).

African buffalo are highly sociable animals that travel in large, nonterritorial herds. The herds are composed of related cows, which are arranged in a linear dominance hierarchy (Estes, 1991). Herds include females and their young from the past two birthing seasons. During the dry season, the males form what are known as bachelor groups, which contain 3 - 4 males. Within the bachelor groups, there is a dominance hierarchy. Members of the group fight each other, usually over an estrous female. Some old males live apart from the group permanently. African buffalo are extremely powerful and deadly, and run at speeds up to 57 km/hr (Nowak, 1983).

During mating season, bulls monitor a female's readiness by urine-testing. A cow is protected by a prospective bull when the cow comes into heat. The cows, however, are evasive and may not commit to the first bull, but instead may wait and attract bulls of a higher rank. After two or three days of this behavior, the chosen bull licks and rests his chin on the rump of the cow. If the cow stays, copulation begins, with a minimum of 2 copulations within a half hour. While the male usually intiates copulation, a female can also solict a male by putting her head under the bull's belly or by putting her chin on the rump (Estes, 1991).

African buffalos are herbivorous and are grazing animals. In the dry season, the pastures diminish and the buffalos move toward water or a depression in the ground and feed off of low nutrient grass. Once the rainy season begins, grasses increase considerably and are heavily grazed by the buffalo (Mloszewski, 1983). African buffalo spend 8 1/2 to 10 1/3 hours a day grazing. These animals graze slightly more at night than in the day. African buffalo also water once every day (Estes, 1991).

Some people consider African buffaloes to be the most dangerous big game animal in Africa. Old bulls have been known to stalk and attack humans. Scientists discredit this claim and say that these stories come from hunters who were trying to hunt down a wounded animal (Nowak, 1983).

In the past, African buffaloes have been hunted for food and for sport (Nowak, 1983).

The population of African buffaloes has decreased a little to due an increase in human activities (Nowak, 1983).