African buffalo

The African buffalo is a large species of true buffalo native to Sub-Saharan Africa, where it is found in a number of disconnected ranges stretching from south-eastern Senegal through West and Central Africa to South Africa. The adult African buffalo's horns are its characteristic feature: they have fused bases that form a continuous bone shield, referred to as a "boss", across the top of the head. The African buffalo is more closely related to Asian buffalo species than it is to other bovids such as American bison or domestic cattle. Its unpredictable temperament may be part of the reason that the African buffalo has never been domesticated and has no domesticated descendants, unlike the wild yak and wild water buffalo, which are the ancestors of the domestic yak and water buffalo, respectively. Natural predators of adult African buffaloes include lions, African wild dogs, spotted hyenas, and Nile crocodiles. As one of the Big Five game animals, the Cape buffalo, the largest subspecies native to eastern and southern Africa, is a sought-after trophy in hunting.

Description

The African buffalo is a very robust species. Its shoulder height can range from and its head-and-body length can range from. The tail can range from long. Compared with other large bovids, it has a long but stocky body and short but thickset legs, resulting in a relatively short standing height. Cape buffaloes weigh . In comparison, African forest buffaloes, at, are only half that size. Its head is carried low; its top is located below the backline. The front hooves of the buffalo are wider than the rear, which is associated with the need to support the weight of the front part of the body, which is heavier and more powerful than the back.
Savannah-type buffaloes have black or dark brown coats with age. Old bulls often have whitish circles around their eyes and on their face. Females tend to have more reddish coats. Forest-type buffaloes are 30–40% smaller, reddish brown in colour, with much more hair growth around the ears and with horns that curve back and slightly up. Calves of both types have red coats.
A characteristic feature of the horns of adult male African buffalo is that the bases come very close together, forming a shield referred to as a "boss". From the base, the horns diverge downwards, then smoothly curve upwards and outwards and in some cases inwards and or backwards. In large bulls, the distance between the ends of the horns can reach upwards of one metre. The horns form fully when the animal reaches the age of 5 or 6 years old, but the bosses do not become "hard" until it reaches the age of 8 to 9 years old. In cows, the horns are, on average, 10–20% smaller, and they do not have a boss. Forest-type buffalo horns are smaller than those of the savanna-type buffaloes from Southern and East Africa, usually measuring less than, and are almost never fused.
Unlike other large bovines, African buffalo have 52 chromosomes. This means they are unable to produce hybrid offspring with domestic cattle and bison.

Subspecies

There are five subspecies that are recognized as valid by most authorities:

Syncerus caffer caffer, the Cape buffalo, is the nominotypical subspecies, as well as the largest, found in Southern and East Africa.
S. c. nanus, the forest buffalo, is the smallest subspecies, common in forest areas of Central and West Africa
S. c. brachyceros, the Sudan buffalo, a smaller version of the Cape buffalo, found in the drier, northern areas of Central and West Africa.
S. c. aequinoctialis, the Nile buffalo, sometimes considered identical to the Sudan buffalo, found in the drier, northern areas of East and Central Africa.
S. c. mathewsi, the mountain buffalo, a disputed subspecies from the Virunga Mountains in Central Africa.

Image	Subspecies	Description	Distribution
	Syncerus caffer caffer	Nominate subspecies and the largest one, with large males weighing up to. The average weight of bulls from South Africa was. In Serengeti National Park, eight bulls averaged similarly. In one survey, mature bulls and cows from Kruger National Park averaged and respectively. In both Kenya and Botswana, the average adult weight of this race was estimated as. Buffaloes of this subspecies living in the south of the continent, notably tall in size and ferocity, are the so-called Cape buffalo. Color of this subspecies is the darkest, almost black.	Southern and East Africa.
	S. c. nanus	The smallest of the subspecies; the height at the withers is less than and average weight is about, or about the size of a zebra, and two to three times lighter in mass than the nominate subspecies. The color is red, with darker patches on the head and shoulders, and in the ears, forming a brush. This subspecies is so different from the Cape buffalo that some researchers still consider it to be a separate species, S. nanus. Hybrids between the Cape and forest buffalo are not uncommon.	Forest areas of Central and West Africa.
	S. c. brachyceros	Intermediate between the first two subspecies. Its dimensions are relatively small, especially compared to other buffalo found in Cameroon, which weigh half as much as the Cape subspecies. Adults average in weight up to.	West Africa.
	S. c. aequinoctialis	It is similar to the Cape buffalo, but somewhat smaller, and its color is lighter. This subspecies is sometimes considered to be the same as the Western savanna buffalo.	Central Africa.
	S. c. mathewsi	Not universally recognized by all authorities.	Mountainous areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.

Ecology

The African buffalo is one of the most successful grazers in Africa. It lives in savannas, swamps and floodplains, as well as mopane grasslands, and the forests of the major mountains of Africa. This buffalo prefers a habitat with dense cover, such as reeds and thickets, but can also be found in open woodland. While not particularly demanding in regard to habitat, they require water daily, and so they depend on perennial sources of water. Like the plains zebra, the buffalo can live on tall, coarse grasses. Herds of buffalo mow down grasses and make way for more selective grazers. When feeding, the buffalo makes use of its tongue and wide incisor row to eat grass more quickly than most other African herbivores. Buffaloes do not stay on trampled or depleted areas for long.
Other than humans, African buffaloes have few predators and are capable of defending themselves against lions. Lions kill and eat buffaloes regularly, and in some regions, the buffaloes are the lions' primary prey. It often takes several lions to bring down a single adult buffalo, and the entire pride may join in the hunt. However, several incidents have been reported in which lone adult male lions have successfully brought down adult buffaloes. On very rare occasions, buffaloes and white rhinos will fight over territory; due to the rhino's strength and size advantage, the rhino typically wins and the buffalo can die from injuries sustained during the encounter. Rhinos live solitary lives, whereas buffalo primarily live social lives and thus they do not usually recognize each other as threats.
Hippopotamuses and buffalo also do not normally interact, but if the buffalo provokes the hippo or makes it feel threatened, a fight can break out, but this is also rare. Adolescent bull African elephants may harass or kill Cape buffalo, either out of territorial aggression or while in musth; when they do this, the calves are most likely to be killed by the elephant attack as they are defenseless when facing an elephant alone, whereas adults will try to fight back and may survive. The average-sized Nile crocodile typically attacks only old solitary animals and young calves, though they can kill healthy adults. Exceptionally large, old male crocodiles may become semi-habitual predators of buffaloes. The cheetah, leopard, African wild dog and spotted hyena are normally a threat only to newborn calves, though larger clans of hyenas have been recorded killing cows and, on rare occasions, full-grown bulls. Large packs of wild dogs have been observed to hunt calves and sick adults.

Diseases

The African buffalo is susceptible to many diseases, including those shared with domestic cattle, such as bovine tuberculosis, corridor disease, and foot-and-mouth disease. As with many diseases, these problems remain dormant within a population as long as the health of the animals is good. These diseases do, however, restrict the legal movements of the animals and fencing infected areas from unaffected areas is enforced. Some wardens and game managers have managed to protect and breed "disease-free" herds which become very valuable because they can be transported. Most well-known are Lindsay Hunt's efforts to source uninfected animals from the Kruger National Park in South Africa. Some disease-free buffaloes in South Africa have been sold to breeders for close to US$130,000.

Social behavior

is highly variable. The core of the herds is made up of related females, and their offspring, in an almost linear dominance hierarchy. The basic herds are surrounded by subherds of subordinate males, high-ranking males and females, and old or invalid animals.
African buffaloes engage in several types of group behavior. Females appear to exhibit a sort of "voting behavior". During resting time, the females stand up, shuffle around, and sit back down again. They sit in the direction they think they should move. After an hour of more shuffling, the females travel in the direction they decide. This decision is communal and not based on hierarchy or dominance.
When chased by predators, a herd sticks close together and makes it hard for the predators to pick off one member. Calves are gathered in the middle. A buffalo herd responds to the distress call of a threatened member and tries to rescue it. A calf's distress call gets the attention of not only the mother, but also the herd. Buffaloes engage in mobbing behavior when fighting off predators. They have been recorded killing lions and chasing lions up trees and keeping them there for two hours, after the lions have killed a member of their group. Lion cubs can get trampled and killed. In one videotaped instance, known as the Battle at Kruger, a calf survived an attack by both lions and a crocodile after intervention of the herd.
Males have a linear dominance hierarchy based on age and size. Since a buffalo is safer when a herd is larger, dominant bulls may rely on subordinate bulls and sometimes tolerate their copulation. The young males keep their distance from the dominant bull, which is recognizable by the thickness of his horns.
Adult bulls spar in play, dominance interactions, or actual fights. A bull approaches another, lowing, with his horns down, and waits for the other bull to do the same thing. When sparring, the bulls twist their horns from side to side. If the sparring is for play, the bull may rub his opponent's face and body during the sparring session. Actual fights are violent but rare and brief. Calves may also spar in play, but adult females rarely spar at all.
During the dry season, males split from the herd and form bachelor groups. Two types of bachelor herds occur: ones made of males aged four to seven years and those of males 12 years or older. During the wet season, the younger bulls rejoin a herd to mate with the females. They stay with them throughout the season to protect the calves. Some older bulls cease to rejoin the herd, as they can no longer compete with the younger, more aggressive males. The old bachelors are called dagga boys, and are considered the most dangerous to humans.